While blood tests and looking in the mirror are pretty good methods to determine your metabolic health, there are some alternatives everyone can do once or twice a year. Here are four simple ways to do so.
This article is based mainly on a Twitter thread by P.D. Mangan, worth a follow for everyone interested in optimizing health without BS.
3 easy ways to measure your metabolic health (in 5 minutes or less):
— P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸 (@Mangan150) May 6, 2023
Four simple ways to measure your metabolic health in minutes:
1. Waist-to-Height Ratio
Waist:height ratio is a simple indicator of your metabolic health. Measure waist at your belly button and divide it by your height.
If the result is below 50% you’re doing fine, otherwise you should start losing body fat.
The Waist to Height ratio is the best marker to assess risk of diabetes & cardiovascular diseases.
– Divide: Waist ÷ Height (in CMs)
– Normal WHrt is below 0.49
– On the chart: Green is normal. Yellow is overweight. Red is danger zone. Brown is underweight.#FoodFriday pic.twitter.com/XhdrJltHvs
— Eric (@amerix) April 8, 2022
2. Ideal Body Weight
While the Body Mass Index (BMI) can be a helpful tool, it has its limitations. Instead, try using the Ideal Body Weight (IBW) model for a more accurate assessment.
Keep in mind that if you’re very muscular, your number may be lower than expected.
Below’s an overview of IBW for men and women, using centimeters and kilograms.
- Male
- 152 cm — 50 kg
- 155 cm — 52,7 kg
- 157 cm — 54,6 kg
- 160 cm — 57,3 kg
- 163 cm — 60 kg
- 165 cm — 61,8 kg
- 168 cm — 64,6 kg
- 170 cm — 66,4 kg
- 173 cm — 69,1 kg
- 175 cm — 70,9 kg
- 178 cm — 73,7 kg
- 180 cm — 75,5 kg
- 183 cm — 78,2 kg
- 185 cm — 80 kg
- 188 cm — 82,8 kg
- 191 cm — 85,5 kg
- 193 cm — 87,3 kg
- 196 cm — 90 kg
- 198 cm — 91,9 kg
- Female
- 152 cm — 45 kg
- 155 cm — 47,7 kg
- 157 cm — 49,6 kg
- 160 cm — 52,3 kg
- 163 cm — 55 kg
- 165 cm — 56,8 kg
- 168 cm — 59,6 kg
- 170 cm — 61,4 kg
- 173 cm — 64,1 kg
- 175 cm — 65,9 kg
- 178 cm — 68,7 kg
- 180 cm — 70,5 kg
- 183 cm — 73,2 kg
- 185 cm — 75 kg
- 188 cm — 77,8 kg
- 191 cm — 80,5 kg
- 193 cm — 82,3 kg
- 196 cm — 85 kg
- 198 cm — 86,9 kg
3. Insulin Resistance
Cholesterol is a bogus metric to sell more pharmaceuticals. It’s the biggest healthcare scam in history, paid for by Big Food in the seventies.
Though, there are two intriguing figures in your cholesterol numbers that serve as good indicators of insulin sensitivity. The Triglycerides/HDL ratio is a fairly good proxy.
To measure your insulin resistance, look at your Triglycerides/HDL ratio. A ratio over 2 indicates a higher risk, while a ratio under 2 is good and under 1 is optimal.
If your data is in mmol/L, make sure to convert it to mg/DL before calculating the ratio.
4. Blood Pressure
When it comes to blood pressure, you want to be in the normal category. Keep in mind that excess body fat is often a cause of hypertension.
The categories are:
- Normal
- Upper < 120
- Lower <80
- Prehypertension
- Upper 120-139
- Lower 80-89
- Hypertension Stage 1
- Upper 140-159
- Lower 90-99
- Hypertension Stage 2
- Upper >160
- Lower >100
- Hypertensive Crisis
- Upper >180
- Lower >110
While mainstream medicine categorizes people as having metabolic syndrome if they meet three out of five conditions, the best goal is to meet none of them.
Lifestyle factors are the main drivers of metabolic health, so even with less-than-ideal genetics, most people can improve their metabolic health with a lifestyle that prioritizes health. No matter your starting point or age, you can reclaim your metabolic health in just a few months.