Dr Saheb Sahu, FAAP, MPH
1-Waist Circumference (WC): Excessive abdominal fat (belly fat) places you at greater risk of developing type-2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. For Indian men the WC should be less than 78cm (30.7 inches) and for women less than 72cm (28.3 inches). To measure your WC, stand up, exhale, and wrap a measuring tape around your belly button.
2-Blood Pressure (BP): High blood pressure raises your risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.
Normal BP – Systolic = 120mmHg, Diastolic = 80 mm Hg.
Prehypertensive – Systolic = 121-139 mm Hg, Diastolic = 81-89 mm Hg.
Hypertensive – Systolic = Over 140 mm Hg, and Diastolic = over 90 mm Hg.
3- Blood Sugar (or Hemoglobin A1c): Type-2 Diabetes is very common in India. Diabetes can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, frequent infections and delayed in wound healing. Hemoglobin A1C (Simply A1C) is a better measure than fasting blood sugar. It reflects average blood sugar levels over 3-4 months, and is not affected by the food you ate the night before your blood test.
Normal – Blood sugar less than 100 mg/dl, A1C- less than 5.6%.
Prediabetic – Blood sugar=100-125mg/dl, A1C= 5.7 to 6.4%.
Diabetic – Blood sugar above 126mg/dl A1C more than 6.5%.
4- Cholesterol: Excess cholesterol leads to plaque formation in arteries and increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). PAD can lead to pain and numbness and damage to limbs, due to inadequate blood supply. There are two kinds of cholesterol; high density lipoprotein (HDL), the good cholesterol, and the low density lipoprotein (LDL), the bad cholesterol. Your total cholesterol number (HDL+ LDL) should be less than 200 mg/dl. Ideally your HDL cholesterol should be above 60mg/dl.
5- Resting Heart Rate: A normal resting heartrate for adults is between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). A lower resting heart rate is often an indicator of good cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) health, especially in people who are physically fit. A physically fit adult can have a resting heart rate of less than 60 per minute. Endurance athletes can have a resting heart rate as low as 40 to 50 bpm. While a low resting heart rate is generally a good sign, extremely low rates, below 40 bpm in a non-athlete may indicate underlying health issue, and should be evaluated by a doctor. VO2 Max is the gold standard for measuring cardiovascular fitness. Higher values indicate better aerobic capacity. You can calculate your VO2 Max by using an online calculator (www. NTNU.edu).
5 Key Lifestyle Changes to Promote Good Health
1- Eat a Balanced Diet: Eat a heart healthy diet with plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains (brownrice, whole wheat), beans and legumes, fish and shrimps, lean meats, some eggs, low fat dairy products and all kinds of nuts. Limit saturated fats, sugar and ultra- processed foods. Ultra-processed food is often pre-packaged with lots of ingredients designed to be ready to eat or heat quickly. Control your portion size.
Do not smoke, do not use tobacco products, and do not drink. No amount of drink is good for your health. Among Indian men, lung cancer and oral cancers are more common, largely due to tobacco use in various forms.
2-Get Regular Exercise: Center for disease control (CDC-USA)and WHO (World Health Organization), recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise (e.g.brisk walking, cycling, or swimming), or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (e.g. running, lap swimming) per week. Incorporate at least 2 days of muscle strengthening exercise (weight lifting, resistance training) per week. Muscle strengthening and balance exercises are more important for seniors.
3- Prioritize Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Adequate amount of sleep is important for both physical and mental health.
4- Maintain Social Connections: Build and maintain close connections with friends and family. Harvard Health Publishing/summarized research showing that positive family, friends, religious and community connections are as beneficial to your health as sufficient sleep, a healthy diet, and being a non-smoker. Other studies have come to similar conclusions. Friends and family provide support, companionship, a sense of belonging and contribute to overall happiness and even longevity. Interestingly, research shows that friends have a more powerful effect on longevity than family.
5-Get All the Vaccinations Recommended for Your Age: All adults should get Influenza (flu), Covid, Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis), Shingles (Herpes Zoster), Pneumococcal, Hepatitis A and B and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. All children should get all the age appropriate vaccines. Generally, it is advised to have physical exam every 2 to 3 years if you are healthy, and not at high risk for chronic diseases, and have no specific medical concerns.
Conclusion
Most scientists feel that about 30% of our lifespan is inherited (genetic), but around 70% of our health span somewhat under our control. Life span focuses on longevity or how long a person lives, regardless of his quality of life. Health span on the other hand refers to the length of time a person is healthy, active and free from serious diseases. Our aim in life should be to increase our health span and not the life span.
A study that followed more than 100,000 health professional over 30 years in the Unites States is telling. The researchers looked into several desirable behaviors: being a nonsmoker, maintaining a healthy weight, moderate alcohol intake, regular exercise, and healthy eating pattern. Subjects in the study who practiced most of those healthy behaviors at age 50 tended to live 10 years longer and were healthier too than those who did not.
Bottom line; know your health related numbers: waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and resting heart rate. Make the necessary lifestyle changes to bring those numbers to normal. Earlier the better. We cannot change our genes, but we can influence the behavior of our genes. It is called “epigenetics”. Research about epigenetics, telomeres, and mitochondria are showing that our genes do not have to be our destiny. We have more control over our health and longevity than we think.
The Roman Poet Virgil (70-19BC) got it right when he said,” The greatest wealth is health”.
Sources:
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention (USA). www.cdc.gov
- National Institute of Health (USA) www. nih.gov
- Mayo Clinic(USA) www. mayoclinic.com
- Harvard Health Publishing. “The Health Benefits of Strong Relationship.” www.health.harvard.edu/staying- healthy/the- health -benefits-of- strong- relationship.
