How do you assess your body health?
frankwbrown
Posts: 13,207 Member
INTRODUCTION:
Hello. I'm starting this thread to share with others the methods I use to determine my body health, and I invite others to share their methods as well.
I'm not interested in starting an argument over the pros and cons of the various methods. I am simply going to say what appears to be working for me, and I hope others will say what appears to be working for them. So please, let's not discuss how applicable a particular method is to the general population. There are other threads that already do that. The idea of this thread is, again:
"Here's what I'm doing personally, and here are the results that I'm seeing."
Hello. I'm starting this thread to share with others the methods I use to determine my body health, and I invite others to share their methods as well.
I'm not interested in starting an argument over the pros and cons of the various methods. I am simply going to say what appears to be working for me, and I hope others will say what appears to be working for them. So please, let's not discuss how applicable a particular method is to the general population. There are other threads that already do that. The idea of this thread is, again:
"Here's what I'm doing personally, and here are the results that I'm seeing."
2
Replies
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SOME METHODS OF ASSESSING BODY HEALTH (that I'm aware of)
These are methods I've read about, although I have not used all of them. There may be other methods I've overlooked or am not aware of. My pro/con comments are based on what I've read and should be taken with a grain of salt (do your own research). I won't have a personal opinion until I've compared my results.
1. DEXA scan (Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry)
Pro: accuracy, thoroughness.
Con: can be costly compared to other methods; accessibility/availability may be an issue.
2. water displacement method (BodPod)
Pro: accuracy, thoroughness.
Con: can be costly compared to other methods; accessibility/availability may be an issue.
I believe it's the case that none of the following methods are as accurate as the above two methods.
3. skin-fold caliper methods (there are many variations)
Pro: cost effective, reasonable accuracy (varies with method).
Con: person must know how to properly use calipers; greater margin of error.
4. bioelectrical impedance method (many scales available ranging from < $30 to > $200)
Pro: can be relatively cost effective; useful mostly for relative progress over time.
Con: readings can fluctuate widely; must look at trends and ignore "noise".
The following methods rely only on some combination of height, weight and circumference(s), and thus represent a statistical measure based on large populations.
5. Navy body fat % method (these formula versions are for measurements in inches)
[https://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Body-Fat-Using-the-US-Navy-Method]How to Measure Body Fat Using the US Navy Method[/url]
For men: % body fat = 86.010 x log10(abdomen - neck) - 70.041 x log10(height) + 36.76
For women: % body fat = 163.205 x log10(waist + hip - neck) - 97.684 x log10(height) - 78.387
Pro: essentially no cost; might be as good or better than BMI.
Con: it is only a generalized measure, similar to BMI.
6. Relative Fat Mass Index (RFMI) (uses ratio so independent of metric/imperial units used)
How to calculate your relative fat mass (RFM)
Men: RFM = 64 – (20 x height/waist circumference)
Women: RFM = 76 – (20 x height/waist circumference)
Pro: essentially no cost; might be as good or better than BMI.
Con: it is only a generalized measure, similar to BMI.
7. Body Mass Index (BMI) (used metric measurements)
BMI = weight in kilograms / (square of height in meters)
Pro: essentially no cost; simple as it gets.
Con: applicable to general population, but can give results that are "false negative" or "false positive" for some portion of that population.
(If you disagree, please do so respectfully, ideally by pointing to a separate thread that delves into the topic. The category "Debate: fitness and health" would be an excellent place for that. As I said before, this thread is for the purpose of sharing your own experiences.)
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WHERE I'M AT:
gender: male, age: 70+, status: obese (current BMI: 37.5)
disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor a nutritionist, nor a fitness expert.
(not that it's relevant, but I'm a retired programmer)
I started a weight loss journey last July 10th. I purchased a scale that uses bioelectrical impedance. This scale measures weight, fat mass, lean mass, bone mass, water mass, body fat % and BMI, all with a varying degree of accuracy (discussed below). I have had one DEXA body scan and intend to have several more. I have just purchased calipers as well, but have not yet used them.
I will have another DEXA scan on December 20th. At that time, I intend to use and compare all of the following methods. When I do, I will post the results with my personal observations.
1. DEXA scan
2. Jackson/Pollock 3 caliper method
3. bioelectrical impedance method (using a Withings Body+ scale)
4. Navy body fat % formula
5. Relative Fat Mass Index (RFMI)
6. Body Mass Index (BMI)
In the mean time, please share your own methodology for accessing your body health.
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None of those listed are all that accurate. How about what you see in the mirror?6
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I'm just getting started, but I guess I'm planning on going with (1) BMI (2) how I feel and (3) how my clothes fit. And trying not to obsess about it all. But if you've got the kind of brain that likes to get into the details and test different theories/methods, and that's something you enjoy, then good luck to you, sir.
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For me, I don't look at any of that. My scale tells me if my weight is roughly stable, and then I go by how I feel in my day to day routines and when I work out, and how I look in the mirror (especially my face, I get breakouts if I eat too much sugar or dairy and it quickly shows when I am tired or overdoing it).7
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For me it's the mirror, photos, workout performance3
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I don't really think that knowing body fat or body fat percentage is particularly helpful in any way to me since I'm at a healthy weight, body fat is too difficult and/or fiddly to calculate and I'm content that I'm at a healthy weight. BMI - as flawed as it can be for some - is a good enough measurement and it's easy. I'm female so I'm going to have a bit more body fat than a man and I'm okay with that.
I step on the body weight scale regularly and I stay in my five pound weight range (21-22 BMI.) I log my food and make sure to hit my protein and fat and fiber goals. In logging food I also track my fruit and vegetable intake and shoot for 800g of whole fruit or vegetables daily. Fiber is really important to Health. So are the antioxidants found in fresh produce. So I assess those limits - for Health.
I also track my exercise and my Goal on that is five hours per week. That's important for me to assess - for Health.
I go to the doctor for a physical once a year so I'm hoping bloodwork and an exam and any recommended tests are sufficient in general, for Health.
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Weight, how I feel, how well I am eating, how I'm sleeping/dealing with stress, physical capacity (i.e., progress made or maintenance, depending on effort, on my exercise of choice, such as weights, running, biking, in theory stuff like yoga or pilates (although I admit I'm not really working on either of those)), how long in a day I'm just sitting vs walking around or otherwise moving.
In that health includes brain health, memory and cognition stuff (although since I work in a job that requires me to be okay at these things I don't always bother doing anything specific). Also having decent and fulfilling relationships with others, connections with my community, etc.
One key thing as I age is to make sure I'm fit at basic functional things (that it's not too difficult to get on and off the floor without leaning on anything, stuff like that). I don't do that specifically but take it into account wrt my strength training stuff.
And of course how medical tests done by my doctor turn out.
I don't think focusing really closely on BF%, especially as I can see my progress and know when I'm a healthy weight or not already, is especially useful for me, although I do take measurements at times (this is more about making progress on some specific goals that aren't directly health-related).3 -
Pictures, the mirror, how my clothes fit, the scale, and measurements. I don’t need to know my body fat. It isn’t relevant and I’m just going to waste time and money trying to determine it.2
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Respectfullly....
Think you have confused BodPod and hydrostatic body composition testing - BodPod uses no water, it bounces air pressure waves off you in a sealed "egg". Hydrostatic is a dunk tank, immersion in water.
I had a series of BodPod tests and the first three were perfectly believable but the fourth was very obviously wrong in numbers and trend. More like a silver standard than a gold standard and perhaps of more use to a sports club rather than to an individual paying for testing? Overall not as useful for my trending as a 4 point BIA device where at least I could test frequently and discard obviously suspect data.
Personal experience is that self-administered few site calliper testing and tape measurement methods (such as Navy Method) have given me very dodgy and sometimes silly results. Multi-site calliper testing by a trained operative is pretty good though, not sure if aging skin / loss of elasticity is taken into account though?
My health and fitness monitoring:
Very rare for me to be ill which is a decent indicator of my immune system.
I weigh daily and stay in a good weight range.
Mirror tells me all I need to know about body fat percentage at maintenance. I maintain at a range where small changes in composition are very visible. This year of lockdowns and gym closures have been reflected in losing and regaining muscle definition and separation.
Occasionally test my blood pressure as not problematic for me.
Had a batch of blood tests in this my 60th year to establish a baseline for periodic testing - results were nearly all good to optimal.
For cycling I regularly test my FTP and casually watch a VO2 max indicator. Strava segment PRs show performance improvements for my cycling. During a hard training block I monitor my resting HR as a fitness and recovery indicator. Times for 100km and 100mile rides are a good test of speed endurance.
For strength I go by my numbers in a few key compound lifts. I first bench pressed 100kg 42 years ago and that's a reliable sign my overall strength is in a good place.
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"Health" in general I rely on what my doctor tells me. She, in turn, relies on bloodwork and bp readings.
Day to day I gauge it loosely on things like susceptibility to and frequency of illness (do I catch the cold that's going around the office or does it pass me by?), speed of healing, energy level, mental focus. Sleep quality isn't a good barometer since menopause.
DEXA scan annually (although I didn't have one this year because of travel restrictions, I can't get one done locally) to monitor bone density. Body composition is interesting bonus information.1 -
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L1zardQueen wrote: »None of those listed are all that accurate. How about what you see in the mirror?
What one sees in the mirror is certainly a valid approach, assuming one is honest with oneself. And you (and others) have drawn my attention to "methods" that I completely overlooked in my post (although I do use many of these methods in my pursuit of health if not also in gauging my progress/status).
For me, what I see in the mirror is less informative than how I feel (e.g. stamina, presence or lack of aches and pains, energy level, mental acuity, etc.).
But just as importantly, I judge my health by the following (in no particular order):
1. result of annual physical and blood tests.
2. advice my doctor gives me.
3. my resting heart rate and my blood pressure (and how it has changed over time).
4. my level of activity, both aerobic and anaerobic.
5. my strength, flexibility and, at my age, my balance (stabilizer muscles deserve your attention as you age).
6. my adherence to a healthy diet.
7. I personally, again given my age, want some reassurance that my bones are healthy (DEXA helps with that).
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I do, but I totally appreciate that others don't share that... what shall I call it? Perspective, outlook, approach?ThePigMama wrote: »I'm just getting started, but I guess I'm planning on going with (1) BMI (2) how I feel and (3) how my clothes fit. And trying not to obsess about it all. But if you've got the kind of brain that likes to get into the details and test different theories/methods, and that's something you enjoy, then good luck to you, sir.
And the comments people have made thus far reveal the many facets of assessing one's health, although my post focused more on methods of assessing body composition more than health in general. I suppose I chose a poor title for this thread, but it's all good.
Good luck to you as well. 2 -
Body fat and health are not at all the same thing. You can be skin and bones and very unhealthy, just as you can be overweight but healthy.
I judge my health by how I feel, how well I can move, and results from the blood work and cancer screenings I get done periodically. Since I am rarely ill and can run 40 mpw, I figure I am pretty healthy ATM. My weight is stable, but that has little to do with my overall health, just a result of being fairly disciplined.5 -
Here’s what I’m doing personally:
I get an annual checkup with my doctor and get a comprehensive blood test. When I was obese and sedentary I had terrible bloodwork numbers and felt awful, tired all the time, no energy, aches and pains everywhere just generally feeling crummy and destined to suffer from the metabolic disorders that seem to run in my family. When i finally got my act together and lost the excess weight and started exercising regularly for the first time in my life my bloodwork values improved and reached normal levels. I began feeling energetic, my body and mind felt clear and excited and the aches and pains went away. My fatty liver healed itself and I’m one of the few in my family that did not develop type 2 diabetes once I reached middle age. I’ve maintained my healthy weight for 7 years and keeping track of my lab values is one of the ways I assess my personal body health. The other way I determine if I’m healthy is much less structured: I’ve discovered my passion for trail running, it’s so much fun but also quite physically and mentally demanding... so as long as I am able to run up and down hills and mountains whenever I want to I guess I’m doing pretty good!
Here are the results that I’m seeing:
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Respectfullly....
Think you have confused BodPod and hydrostatic body composition testing - BodPod uses no water, it bounces air pressure waves off you in a sealed "egg". Hydrostatic is a dunk tank, immersion in water.
I had a series of BodPod tests and the first three were perfectly believable but the fourth was very obviously wrong in numbers and trend. More like a silver standard than a gold standard and perhaps of more use to a sports club rather than to an individual paying for testing? Overall not as useful for my trending as a 4 point BIA device where at least I could test frequently and discard obviously suspect data.
Personal experience is that self-administered few site calliper testing and tape measurement methods (such as Navy Method) have given me very dodgy and sometimes silly results. Multi-site calliper testing by a trained operative is pretty good though, not sure if aging skin / loss of elasticity is taken into account though?
My health and fitness monitoring:
Very rare for me to be ill which is a decent indicator of my immune system.
I weigh daily and stay in a good weight range.
Mirror tells me all I need to know about body fat percentage at maintenance. I maintain at a range where small changes in composition are very visible. This year of lockdowns and gym closures have been reflected in losing and regaining muscle definition and separation.
Occasionally test my blood pressure as not problematic for me.
Had a batch of blood tests in this my 60th year to establish a baseline for periodic testing - results were nearly all good to optimal.
For cycling I regularly test my FTP and casually watch a VO2 max indicator. Strava segment PRs show performance improvements for my cycling. During a hard training block I monitor my resting HR as a fitness and recovery indicator. Times for 100km and 100mile rides are a good test of speed endurance.
For strength I go by my numbers in a few key compound lifts. I first bench pressed 100kg 42 years ago and that's a reliable sign my overall strength is in a good place.
Thank you for correcting me. I am aware of the two different methods, but only knew the name of BodPod. I should have looked up their proper names: hydrostatic weighing (HW), and air displacement plethysmography (ADP).
Does your BIA scale support wi-fi or bluetooth, enabling one to easily access the readings for importing data (even if only via cut&paste) into apps like MyFitnessPal, Garmin Connect, FitBit, Google Fit, etc? I wouldn't mind having a 4 point BIA scale.
Swimming is my preferred activity, but after that is cycling. But I am nowhere near your kind of riding. I would like to be able to track FTP and VO2max, and I'd love to be able to afford a power meter for that purpose. But I recently purchased a Garmin Fenix 6x, and that's as extravagant as I can be.
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@RunsWithBees
Fantastic! Congratulations!
I enjoyed jogging when in college, but unfortunately my failure to maintain a healthy weight resulted in a loss of most of the cartilage in both knees (I actually have one artificial knee now). So, I swim and ride a mountain bike.
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Am I breathing? Check
Can I get out of bed. Check
Am I in minimal pain. Check
I am good to go. 5 -
frankwbrown wrote: »@RunsWithBees
Fantastic! Congratulations!
I enjoyed jogging when in college, but unfortunately my failure to maintain a healthy weight resulted in a loss of most of the cartilage in both knees (I actually have one artificial knee now). So, I swim and ride a mountain bike.
Thanks! Sorry about the knees, I know a lot of people that have had them replaced. I used to have a bum knee that ached for 19 years, but guess I managed to lose my weight in time to improve it and it doesn’t give me grief anymore. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d ever identify myself as a runner but “never say never” I guess 7 years and 10 months ago I was so unhealthy I couldn’t walk around the block or go up a single flight of stairs without being completely out of breath, I mean actually gasping for air. I will never go back to that lifestyle because I’m just having too much fun now! 4 -
frankwbrown wrote: »Respectfullly....
Think you have confused BodPod and hydrostatic body composition testing - BodPod uses no water, it bounces air pressure waves off you in a sealed "egg". Hydrostatic is a dunk tank, immersion in water.
I had a series of BodPod tests and the first three were perfectly believable but the fourth was very obviously wrong in numbers and trend. More like a silver standard than a gold standard and perhaps of more use to a sports club rather than to an individual paying for testing? Overall not as useful for my trending as a 4 point BIA device where at least I could test frequently and discard obviously suspect data.
Personal experience is that self-administered few site calliper testing and tape measurement methods (such as Navy Method) have given me very dodgy and sometimes silly results. Multi-site calliper testing by a trained operative is pretty good though, not sure if aging skin / loss of elasticity is taken into account though?
My health and fitness monitoring:
Very rare for me to be ill which is a decent indicator of my immune system.
I weigh daily and stay in a good weight range.
Mirror tells me all I need to know about body fat percentage at maintenance. I maintain at a range where small changes in composition are very visible. This year of lockdowns and gym closures have been reflected in losing and regaining muscle definition and separation.
Occasionally test my blood pressure as not problematic for me.
Had a batch of blood tests in this my 60th year to establish a baseline for periodic testing - results were nearly all good to optimal.
For cycling I regularly test my FTP and casually watch a VO2 max indicator. Strava segment PRs show performance improvements for my cycling. During a hard training block I monitor my resting HR as a fitness and recovery indicator. Times for 100km and 100mile rides are a good test of speed endurance.
For strength I go by my numbers in a few key compound lifts. I first bench pressed 100kg 42 years ago and that's a reliable sign my overall strength is in a good place.
Thank you for correcting me. I am aware of the two different methods, but only knew the name of BodPod. I should have looked up their proper names: hydrostatic weighing (HW), and air displacement plethysmography (ADP).
Does your BIA scale support wi-fi or bluetooth, enabling one to easily access the readings for importing data (even if only via cut&paste) into apps like MyFitnessPal, Garmin Connect, FitBit, Google Fit, etc? I wouldn't mind having a 4 point BIA scale.
Swimming is my preferred activity, but after that is cycling. But I am nowhere near your kind of riding. I would like to be able to track FTP and VO2max, and I'd love to be able to afford a power meter for that purpose. But I recently purchased a Garmin Fenix 6x, and that's as extravagant as I can be.
I'd love to have a go at hydrostatic testing - purely because my one (totally useless) superpower is to sit comfortably on the bottom of a swimming pool despite not being very lean.
My Omron 4-point scale didn't have any connectivity. I have free use of an internet connected commercial standard Boditrax unit at my gym but the downside is that it makes it harder to test under consistent conditions which is important for BIA estimates/trending. When I've used 2 point devices they have only been good for a chuckle!
Power meters for cycling strip away a lot of the mystery but can bring you down to earth with a bump if you compare yourself to others.
A combined proper VO2 max test and max HR test in a sports lab is fascinating but incredibly tough if you are self-competitive so I'm happy just to track a rough indicator.2 -
manderson27 wrote: »Am I breathing? Check
Can I get out of bed. Check
Am I in minimal pain. Check
I am good to go.
I had no idea it could be that simple! 0 -
I don't have that problem... yet.I'd love to have a go at hydrostatic testing - purely because my one (totally useless) superpower is to sit comfortably on the bottom of a swimming pool despite not being very lean.
That's too bad. I'd love to have a 4-point device but I've gotta have access to that data. My gym recently acquired a 4 point BIA device but I've yet to use it, because they just closed again. And as you say, the readings vary enough already with the most consistent conditions I can manage each morning at home.My Omron 4-point scale didn't have any connectivity. I have free use of an internet connected commercial standard Boditrax unit at my gym but the downside is that it makes it harder to test under consistent conditions which is important for BIA estimates/trending. When I've used 2 point devices they have only been good for a chuckle!
I don't dare compare myself to others. I've already become painfully aware of how far "back in the pack" I am when it comes to cycling. I'm on my own journey and the only person I'm looking to best is my old self.Power meters for cycling strip away a lot of the mystery but can bring you down to earth with a bump if you compare yourself to others.
A combined proper VO2 max test and max HR test in a sports lab is fascinating but incredibly tough if you are self-competitive so I'm happy just to track a rough indicator.
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Hmm. Complicated question, worthwhile to mull over IMO.
First, how I feel: Energy; mood; perceived mental clarity including memory; routine pain/discomfort levels **; recovery after exercise; improvement gain-rate from exercise; relative difficult of routine home/yard work at the margin (digging holes, toting heavy bags of mulch or whatever, wheelbarrowing, and that sort of thing), etc. (** At my age & stage, there's usually at least a trivial amount of pain/discomfort somewhere, and I have lots of experience assessing whether it feels better/worse from a similar stimulating event(s) at different times. Ditto with expectations about exercise recovery and gains, I understand my baselines pretty well.) Also, nutritional metrics are a high priority, specifically whether I'm meeting my specific calorie, macro, and veggie-fruit servings goals the overwhelming majority of days. Similar thing, though informally, for goals to be regularly active.
Second, incidence of any health issues whatsoever, including minor ones: Basically, things I think others have mentioned about not getting colds; how my body heals cuts or bruises; how baseline health conditions I have (hypothyroidism, arthritis, etc.) are playing out; leading indicators like hair loss or brittle nails; etc.
Third, basic medical screenings: Blood test results, blood pressure, etc.
Fourth, exercise and performance results: Resting heart rate, heart rate recovery to baseline after exercise, "cost" of pace in terms of heart rate metrics, raw peak paces (when I can force myself to peak effort😆); strength results (when I bother) in terms of both one-rep volume and endurance. The Garmin VO2max estimates and "fitness age" estimates are kind of in the same category as BIA estimates, amusing but not persuasive.
I track my weight, and what my BIA scale says, but I don't put much stock in them as standalones. Obviously, I care if my weight suddenly starts increasing noticeably, but at this point, controlling the process (intake, activity) is a bigger focus: If I'm staying active and eating right, the scale will mostly follow. Also, I do care a little about body composition, but mainly for functional reasons, so I pay more attention to the functional indicators than any body comp metrics. I've considered sports-lab testing just for fun, but I'm not sure I want to work that hard either. 😉1 -
That all seems very sensible.Hmm. Complicated question, worthwhile to mull over IMO.
First, how I feel: Energy; mood; perceived mental clarity including memory; routine pain/discomfort levels **; recovery after exercise; improvement gain-rate from exercise; relative difficult of routine home/yard work at the margin (digging holes, toting heavy bags of mulch or whatever, wheelbarrowing, and that sort of thing), etc. (** At my age & stage, there's usually at least a trivial amount of pain/discomfort somewhere, and I have lots of experience assessing whether it feels better/worse from a similar stimulating event(s) at different times. Ditto with expectations about exercise recovery and gains, I understand my baselines pretty well.) Also, nutritional metrics are a high priority, specifically whether I'm meeting my specific calorie, macro, and veggie-fruit servings goals the overwhelming majority of days. Similar thing, though informally, for goals to be regularly active.
Second, incidence of any health issues whatsoever, including minor ones: Basically, things I think others have mentioned about not getting colds; how my body heals cuts or bruises; how baseline health conditions I have (hypothyroidism, arthritis, etc.) are playing out; leading indicators like hair loss or brittle nails; etc.
Third, basic medical screenings: Blood test results, blood pressure, etc.
Fourth, exercise and performance results: Resting heart rate, heart rate recovery to baseline after exercise, "cost" of pace in terms of heart rate metrics, raw peak paces (when I can force myself to peak effort😆); strength results (when I bother) in terms of both one-rep volume and endurance. The Garmin VO2max estimates and "fitness age" estimates are kind of in the same category as BIA estimates, amusing but not persuasive.
I track my weight, and what my BIA scale says, but I don't put much stock in them as standalones. Obviously, I care if my weight suddenly starts increasing noticeably, but at this point, controlling the process (intake, activity) is a bigger focus: If I'm staying active and eating right, the scale will mostly follow. Also, I do care a little about body composition, but mainly for functional reasons, so I pay more attention to the functional indicators than any body comp metrics. I've considered sports-lab testing just for fun, but I'm not sure I want to work that hard either. 😉
I have no doubt that once I am fit (he says, optimistically), I will be less concerned with body comp metrics and focused more on functional reasons. But at this point in my journey, body comp metrics satisfies my "need to know".1 -
For me:
Am I in pain?
How's my movement?
How do my joints feel?
How do I look in the mirror?
That's it. For real.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
2 -
I think you forgot 2 very important measures...
1) How do you feel?
2) Can you do basic things without hurting of feeling out of breath? These would vary by person, but can you
* climb a floor of stairs and talk at the same time?
* walk a mile on easy territory (like sidewalks or smooth paths)
* go grocery shopping (or some other walking and standing activity with light carrying)
* cook a meal or clean up (20 minutes of kitchen or laundry work) without needing to sit down for a break
Make your own list of a level of activity that seems reasonable. Over time it may change. (For instance when my arm was in a cast, simply getting dressed in the morning was hard - although my general health was ok at the time. Putting on knee socks one handed can be very difficult!)3
This discussion has been closed.
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