The word “healthy” means different things to different people. Some define their health by numbers and others gauge it simply by the way they feel.
According to the standards of practice that many health care providers use, body mass index (BMI), which uses weight and height to estimate body fat, is an indicator of health risks. In general, the higher the value, the higher the risk.
Not everyone agrees that BMI is the best metric to use, and the overemphasis on weight as a measurement of health has led to stigma and misconceptions. Most health providers agree that using BMI alone is insufficient for measuring overall health risk.
For that reason, many look to other standards to measure well-being. Here are alternative measures of health that go beyond the scale:
WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE. Waist circumference (WC) is a screening tool used to estimate abdominal fat, a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Men who have a WC above 40 inches have greater health risks; for women, the same risks occur at 35 inches.¹
WAIST-TO-HIP RATIO. While BMI measures weight-to-height ratio, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) measures waist circumference and hip circumference.² The WHR has been shown to be a better predictor of poor cardiac status. Visceral fat is fat stored in the abdominal cavity (also known as active fat) and influences how hormones function. Higher amounts of visceral fat is associated with a number of health problems including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Research has shown a strong correlation between WHR and visceral fat making it a better predictor of potential health complications than BMI.³
LAB VALUES. Measurements of cholesterol, vitamin D, triglycerides, glucose, and many others offer additional details about metabolic health risks. This is why having your lab values drawn regularly can help you identify risks and make corrections earlier.
SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING. Subjective Well-being measures how people evaluate their lives on a subjective level.⁴ Take the free Authentic Happiness Inventory assessment from UPenn’s Positive Psychology Center here.⁵