BMI as a forecaster of health and longevity

If your weight is great, congratulations.   But if not, you need to lose pounds. Why should you lose weight?  Because overweight people are at higher risk for chronic disease and premature death.

What is BMI?
Body mass index, or BMI, is a new term to most people. However, it is the measurement of choice for many physicians and researchers studying obesity. BMI uses a mathematical formula that takes into account both a person’s height and weight.   BMI is a mathematical formula.  BMI equals a person’s weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. (BMI=kg/m²).

Click here to learn your BMI based on a calculator provided by Uncle Sam’s Centers for Disease Control.

Risk of Associated Disease According to BMI
18.5 or less	Underweight	–	N/A
18.6 – 24.9	Normal	–	N/A
25.0 – 29.9	Overweight	Increased	High
30.0 – 34.9	Obese	High	Very High
35.0 – 39.9	Obese	Very High	Very High
40 or greater	Extremely Obese	Extremely High	Extremely High

BMI evaluates your risk of dying prematurely
In a long-term study of 900,000 people it was found that adults who have a BMI of 25 or greater, ) may be cutting three years off their lives, mostly from heart disease and stroke.

Those who are extremely overweight, a BMI of 40 or greater, shortened their lives by as many as 10 years.

Above a healthy weight, every 5-point increase in BMI increases the risk of early death by about 30%.  Of course the opposite is true, so it makes sense to reduce one’s BMI.

A good BMI is not the be-all and end-all of good health
While a normal BMI is great, you can have a normal BMI and still be unhealthy — especially if you don’t exercise.

Waist size equal to over 40 in. for men, or 35 inches for women is considered obese.

In a recent study, inactive men had a higher risk of future heart disease than active men. This was regardless of normal BMI’s and bathroom scales. In the same study, inactive women fared worse than men when it came to heart disease risk, and that’s because activity affects body proportion.  Body proportion is more important than BMI.  When you exercise it is less likely that your body fat will get stored in the most dangerous place you can store it: around your abdomen.

Tighten your belt

“Tightening your belt” means cutting costs for many people.  What it means for your health is that it pays to have a smaller waist size.

Most people understand the role obesity plays in increasing health risks, but where those extra pounds are located might be a stronger determinant of health risks than traditional obesity measures.

Are you an Apple or a Pear?
A man’s body is typically more “apple” shaped. He tends to collect fat around his waist and stomach area (beer belly).

By contrast, women’s bodies are more “pear” shaped as they tend to collect fat on their hips, buttocks and thighs.

People with “apple” body shapes are more prone to develop diabetes and heart disease than those with “pear” body shapes.

Measuring your waist is simple
You can do it yourself.  Find the spot at your belly which is the widest, typically a couple of inches above your belly button, and wrap a tape measure around yourself.  Take a look at what it shows.

Healics can do it for you
Healics can come to the work site and put a tape measure around your waist as a regular routine.  Years ago they found a formula devised by professors at Brigham Young University that used waist (and hip measures for women) to calculate body fat.  We like this approach for determining body fat because it’s easy to do and can be done by anyone without training, including yourself.

Why is your waist size so important?
What research has shown is that the bigger your waist, the more likely you are to spend dollars on medical care.  Healics doesn’t keep track of which diseases, but it does keep track of the dollars.  It’s pretty simple.  People who are fit stay healthier.  We say “fit” because muscle takes up less space that fat.  You can lose weight, but if it’s muscle, you still have an apple shape around the middle.

New measure of risk

Unfortunately, the higher your BMI the more body fat we carry around our bellies, the more likely we are to have diabetes

Recent studies from Harvard determined that a man with a waist size of 37 inches has a four times greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than a man with a four inch smaller waist.

This is significantly different that the previously understood risks that existed for a man with a waist size greater than 40 inches.  This risk applies whether or not a man is considered overweight or obese according to traditional measures such as body mass index (BMI).

For a woman, the same risks exist with a waist size in excess of 33”

What can you do about it?
While an older man may not be able to go back to “six-pack abs” and a woman may not be able to go back to her “hour glass figure,” you can reduce your belly fat.

Exercise is tops on the list.  Start by walking more. Muscle takes up less room than fat so two people weighing the same can have different shapes.

Resistance training (weight lifting) is a form of exercise that builds muscle.  Aerobic exercise burns off body fat.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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