Objective Outcomes

When looking for outcomes with health, most people choose to look at weight as the measure of success (or whether they can still fit into their jeans). There are various ways of measuring your results and using more than one option can provide a more objective perspective of health. You can start with height and weight, which gives you a range of appropriate weight for height. This gives you a general idea of your health. You can use the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is one way of measuring body fat by comparing one's weight and height (weight/height charts don't consider body fat percentages). This measurement has come under fire recently but can still give you a reasonable measure if you don't fit into one of the problem categories (body builders/elite athlete, children/small-bodied women, or the elderly). Another alternative would be the waist-to-hip ratio. If a man's waist-hip ratio exceeds .95 or woman's waist-hip ratio exceeds .80 then they are considered at greater risk. Another option is the waist-height ratio; your waist should be less than half your height. These all measure body fat but there are other objective measurements that can be used to determine health--resting heart rate, oxygen volume, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. which can be done at your annual exam. It's not just what you look like or whether you fit into a bikini that's important. These are not true or objective measures of health. It doesn't mean you ignore how you feel or how you appear but it provides additional information that is more objective.