Weight vs Health

[civvver]

I did a biometric screen today as part of a work health insurance incentive. I usually get my numbers checked annually anyway, but now they're fresh and in front of me.

Mine are pretty good.
Blood pressure 119/78
Total cholesterol 138 mg/dl
HDL 20 mg/dl (this is low but since my total is so low it's not that bad)
Non fasting glucose 82 mg/dl

Now here's the kicker, my bmi is borderline obese at 28. I'm a scant 5'8" and a hefty 193. My waist isn't good either at 39 inches (that's measured at my actual waist, not my pant size). That's the borderline where they worry about it also. So yes I have a beer gut. I'm not fat all over though, I am fairly muscled under all that fat, I have solid legs and arms. Even in my younger days when my waist was 32 inches I still weighed in the 170s.

On the flip side my co worker who is probably 6 feet and like 180 has high blood pressure and cholesterol he told me, over 220.

So here's my question, what do you think is a better indicator of health, your chemical numbers or your physical dimensions? Or is it neither and you need to do a fitness test to find out?

Follow up question, which do you think is a better predictor of future health?

I think it's any interesting question cus anyone can look at a fat person and say oh they're unhealthy. But we have almost no way to similarly judge a skinny person who might be just as unhealthy by the numbers. I mean that biggest loser coach just had a heart attack for crying out loud.

My personal opinion is that I'm doing ok right now cus I eat a lot of fiber, veggies and whole grains, and chase after kids at home, but eventually that weight is going to catch up to me as I age. Healthy now but the weight means problems later. Planning to try and lose some this summer. I think I'd be happy around ~180 and a ~36 inch waist.

 

[Synobun]

Weight is a problem that has long-term implications but rarely has a significant impact on health in the short-term unless you have other health problems to contend with.

If you remain obese, your health will likely take some dips at around the 35~ mark and continue to dip from there. Your 30s is when your body starts to slow down and "change", for lack of a better term, and is the best time to perfect or otherwise refine your diet since your inclinations during your 30s will likely paint your inclinations through your middle-age.

Your blood test and other tests will always reign supreme in determining present health but your physical body itself can be used for predicting future health rather accurately. Obesity will always cause health problems as you age, slow down, and weaken. There's no "if" or "but" in that equation. It will happen. It's extremely taxing on the body and even the healthiest of people get problems as they get older. It's stacking the deck against your longevity. Maybe you'll get a normal lifespan but you'll want to maximize your chances of getting that instead of reaching it in spite of your decisions.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

My weight is a health risk to anyone I wrestle to the ground and lay on.

 

[BvBPL]

Your blood pressure is right on the border of prehypertension. Weight is part of that.
There isn’t a lot of point in contrasting physical with biological numbers in terms of which is better or worse for health. If you aren’t healthy in one aspect then you are not healthy and should make a change.

 

[Broken_Erika]

My weight is a health risk to anyone I wrestle to the ground and lay on.

I can also be a danger to your health if you use a bridge made of cardboard over a canyon filled with razor blades and other assorted sharp and/or pointy objects.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I can also be a danger to your health if you use a bridge made of cardboard over a canyon filled with razor blades and other assorted sharp and/or pointy objects.

Heck man, my weight is a danger to my health if I climb on a ladder rated for normal household use. It doesn't take something hypothetical and specifically designed for flimsiness.

 

[Kyriakos]

I did a biometric screen today as part of a work health insurance incentive. I usually get my numbers checked annually anyway, but now they're fresh and in front of me.

Mine are pretty good.
Blood pressure 119/78
Total cholesterol 138 mg/dl
HDL 20 mg/dl (this is low but since my total is so low it's not that bad)
Non fasting glucose 82 mg/dl

Now here's the kicker, my bmi is borderline obese at 28. I'm a scant 5'8" and a hefty 193. My waist isn't good either at 39 inches (that's measured at my actual waist, not my pant size). That's the borderline where they worry about it also. So yes I have a beer gut. I'm not fat all over though, I am fairly muscled under all that fat, I have solid legs and arms. Even in my younger days when my waist was 32 inches I still weighed in the 170s.

On the flip side my co worker who is probably 6 feet and like 180 has high blood pressure and cholesterol he told me, over 220.

So here's my question, what do you think is a better indicator of health, your chemical numbers or your physical dimensions? Or is it neither and you need to do a fitness test to find out?

Follow up question, which do you think is a better predictor of future health?

I think it's any interesting question cus anyone can look at a fat person and say oh they're unhealthy. But we have almost no way to similarly judge a skinny person who might be just as unhealthy by the numbers. I mean that biggest loser coach just had a heart attack for crying out loud.

My personal opinion is that I'm doing ok right now cus I eat a lot of fiber, veggies and whole grains, and chase after kids at home, but eventually that weight is going to catch up to me as I age. Healthy now but the weight means problems later. Planning to try and lose some this summer. I think I'd be happy around ~180 and a ~36 inch waist.

I am 1.72 metres (5.65 feet) and (i think) round 65 kilograms (143 lbs?)
So you (5.8 and 193 lbs) are at 1.76 metres and 87.5. That isn't that bad. Maybe a little overweight? (well, maybe up to 10 kilograms overweight) Wouldn't think of it as "borderline obese".

 

[Arakhor]

I wouldn't expect someone to be only 5' 8" and weigh nearly 14 stone (196 lbs), but I weigh so little that health professionals always ask if I'm eating properly. I'd like to put on a little weight but it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

 

[Kyriakos]

I wouldn't expect someone to be only 5' 8" and weigh nearly 14 stone (196 lbs), but I weigh so little that health professionals always ask if I'm eating properly. I'd like to put on a little weight but it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Dine with and dine with the widening gyroi

 

[Arakhor]

On the plus side, if everyone was my relative weight, the Earth would lose something like 96% of its biomass.

 

[Zelig]

Weight or BMI is a dumb measurement for an individual.

Either measure body fat %, or do the Cooper test (no equipment necessary).

And blood pressure swings wildly over short periods of time. Single measurement aren't really meaningful.

 

[Andree Thorp]

Weight and health are correlated with each other. Its because an increase and decrease on health has an effect on our health in one way or another. But, we must focus on our health and consult with our physicians about our health maintenance.

 

[FriendlyFire]

Follow up question, which do you think is a better predictor of future health?My personal opinion is that I'm doing ok right now cus I eat a lot of fiber, veggies and whole grains, and chase after kids at home, but eventually that weight is going to catch up to me as I age. Healthy now but the weight means problems later. Planning to try and lose some this summer. I think I'd be happy around ~180 and a ~36 inch waist.

Republican Insurance Plan to the rescue !
Start some cardio, and eat healthy Generally eating out once per week is considered a heavy user so avoid fast foods no more then once per week. Weight gain could been from beer, sugar or just high calorie intake
That or Join whatis in hes all meat diet for fast weight lose

 

[civvver]

Your blood pressure is right on the border of prehypertension. Weight is part of that.
There isn’t a lot of point in contrasting physical with biological numbers in terms of which is better or worse for health. If you aren’t healthy in one aspect then you are not healthy and should make a change.

Huh? I thought 120/80 was like perfect bp. When my wife's bp was 95 over something they said it was on the low side.

Weight or BMI is a dumb measurement for an individual.

Either measure body fat %, or do the Cooper test (no equipment necessary).

And blood pressure swings wildly over short periods of time. Single measurement aren't really meaningful.

Pretty sure based on my waist measurement I am mostly fat. I do agree bmi isn't all that useful.

 

[BvBPL]

120/80 is prehypertension.

 

[Zelig]

120/80 is fine, it's in the range of healthy BP. Whether it's high is more relevant in context of how fit you are otherwise.

I typically measure a high pulse pressure (difference between systolic and diastolic, higher is typically bad without context), but I eat healthy and average a couple hours of exercise per day.

 

[warpus]

So here's my question, whaBMI t do you think is a better indicator of health, your chemical numbers or your physical dimensions?

I just got measured, got a full physical done today, and I'm at 192 pounds actually, 1 less than you IIRC, and stand at 5'9.5" and I think I am a long way away from obese. I'm not super healthy by any means, but I would say my body shape is right in between athletic and pudgy. Could use improvement, but from the outside might actually look decently healthy/in shape. BMO says that I'm at the higher end of "Overweight" and very close to "Obese". That is obviously BS

BMI works well for a certain type of bodies, but there are many different body types out there. So for some people it just gives you a junk conclusion. I have no idea in my case, but I have a large Polish upper frame and soccer legs so I assume that's just more bulk and more muscle that weighs more, which would count against me.

Either way I would ignore your BMI and focus on the raw numbers of the tests, but most importantly focus on how you feel. If you're feeling good consistently every day, then you are probably pretty healthy. It's not definite, but that's why you can then use the numbers from the tests to verify that how you feel is reflected in the data. If you feel great and the data says you are healthy, then who cares if the BMI tells you that you're morbidly obese

 

[Ryika]

It's not uncommon for a person who starts out being overweight and then loses fat by doing workouts to actually gain BMI, simply because the muscle mass that is being generated weights more than the fat that is being removed.

For average-ish builds, the BMI is mostly useless, for people for whom it can be useful, a simple mirror or an honest friend can probably do the same job a lot better.

 

[Zelig]

Bagging on BMI is boring. It's like complaining that your bathroom scale isn't giving you the right result on the moon, because that's not what it's meant to do.

 

[VicRatlhead5199]

I'm kind of the same. High BMI with good lab/BP numbers.

There's other stuff that goes along with weight other than diabetes, high bp, etc that I'm starting to suffer from. I had to get shoulder surgery last year because I was moving furniture and using my weight damaged my rotator cuff. The surgeon said it was more likely with obese people because the added weight strains the joint in ways a fit person's wouldn't. Generally stress on the joints is the big one. My dad's had both his knees replaced and I have a bad feeling my left knee will need work in the future.

I need to lose weight.

On a side note, BMI has always seemed generally bogus to me. Even when I was 18 and running daily and weight lifting 3 days a week minimum I still had an obese BMI.