Did you know that your body mass index and your weight do not correctly determine your longevity? Apparently, the extra kilos have been for centuries the sources from which doctors have tried to determine the future probabilities of suffering from diseases or life expectancy, but the reality is that none of them accurately demonstrate the level of health of a person.
This is because BMIs do not take into account differences in sex, body types, muscle mass, bone density, body composition, and ethnic differences. The result is generalized conclusions that do not suit any type of person.
To solve this, we show you 4 figures that better predict your health than your body weight .
4 figures that say more about your health than your body weight
1. Your walking speed
According to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings , the speed of your walks is related to your life expectancy. In fact, they have shown that energetic walkers enjoy greater longevity compared to those with a slower pace, regardless of their body mass indexes (Zaccardi, Davies, Khunti, and Yates, 2019).
1.1 How to measure the speed of your walk
- You must first walk 1.5 km. Then divide the number 60 by how many minutes it took you to do that journey.
- At the same time, count how many seconds it takes you to walk 6 meters and divide the number 6 by the seconds it took you to do that route.
Ideally, you should be able to walk approximately 4 km / h or 1 meter per second.
2. The number of your push-ups
Push- ups are a great way to test your core and upper body strength , as well as cardiovascular strength. It's basically about the more you can do, the stronger your cardiovascular system will be.
To this end, a study of 1,100 adult men found that those who could do more than 40 push-ups had a lower risk of heart disease compared to those who couldn't complete more than 10 push-ups (Yang et al., 2019).
2.1 How to measure your push-ups
You must first position yourself in the correct way, by doing the following:
- Starting in a flat prone position, place your hands just below your body aligning them at the height of your shoulders, making your body form a straight line.
- Contract your abdominal muscles so your hips aren't weak and your back stays straight.
- Bend your elbows and bring your body down, keeping your hips straight.
- Once you get as low as you can, come back up with the strength of your abdomen and arms.
The best way to do push-ups is to master the technique perfectly. Aim for 50 to 100 pushups a day .
3. Your grip strength
The reason grip strength determines how long you will live is that it can help identify muscular and cardiovascular weaknesses. This is because the force with which you grasp objects is directly related to the upper body strength as well as the ability of your heart to function against greater pressure.
In this regard, a study carried out in middle-aged people found that a worse grip is linked to long-term negative health consequences. Some of them are lung cancer and heart disease (Celi-Morales et al., 2018).
3.1 How to calculate your grip strength
To calculate your grip strength you can simply squeeze a dynamometer, which will do the work for you. If you don't have access to one of these devices you can always use a personal scale. To do this you must press the scale with both hands and then divide the number of kilos by 2.
The ideal is 50 kg for men and 30 for women. In case you don't reach those numbers, a good way to promote the strength of your hands is to do a strength training 2 or 3 times a week.
4. The circumference of your waist
Your waist is an indicator of the abdominal fat you have ; therefore when it grows, so do the internal fat deposits in your body.
Excess abdominal fat in this sector is related in most cases to health problems such as type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure and heart disease.
4.1 How to measure waist circumference
You just have to take a tape measure and put it around your waist, above the hip bone. You must take the measurement while you exhale so that you do not cheat.
The ideal measurements of waist circumference are less than 90 cm in women and 100 in men.
conclusion
Now you know that the number on the scale does not determine your health. Taking the above measurements into account is a good way to get to know your body a little more.
References
- Celis-Morales, CA, Welsh, P., Lyall, DM, Steell, L., Petermann, F., Anderson, J.… Gray, SR (2018). Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality: prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank participants. The BMJ . doi: 10.1136 / bmj.k1651
- Yang, J., Christophi, CA, Farioli, A., Baure, DM, Moffatt, S., Zollinger, TW and Kales, SN (2019). Association Between Push-up Exercise Capacity and Future Cardiovascular Events Among Active Adult Men. JAMA Network. doi: 10.1001 / jamanetworkopen.2018.8341
- Zaccardi, F., Davies, MJ, Khunti, K. and Yates, T. (2019). Comparative Relevance of Physical Fitness and Adiposity on Life Expectancy. Mayo Clinics Proceedings . doi: 10.1016 / j.mayocp.2018.10.029
