"Be aware of images you create about yourself

when you speak to others."

~Sanaja Roman

Too Skinny to Be Fat?

True or false: You can have a normal weight and BMI (body mass index) and still be "obese." It's true. Even if you're no bigger than a minute, you could still be at risk for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome if your fat mass is greater than 30 percent of your body weight. It's called "normal-weight obese syndrome."
Check your BMI here: http://www.consumer.gov/weightloss/bmi.htm

Overall weight and BMI are a good start when estimating health risks, but they don't tell the whole story. (Please be aware of this! You need to look at all of the factors!) What's more important is how much fat you have relative to your overall weight and where that fat is on your body.

The higher your percentage of fat mass -- and the more fat you have bunched around your middle -- the more proinflammatory cytokines you have racing around in your blood.

What's so bad about that, you ask? These chemicals signal inflammation, and the more inflammation you have in your body, the greater your health risks. Cytokines also affect the way your body uses insulin and contribute to hardening of the arteries. Once the inflammation ball gets rolling, your risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome go up. Which helps explain, in part, why skinny people can still get heart disease and may pack on pounds after a certain age. Also why allergies, arthritis and other inflammatory conditions are on the rise.

To lower your risk, use the triple threat:

cardiovascular exercise, weight training, and a balanced diet.

What is metabolic syndrome?
Metabolic syndrome is a combination of medical conditions that increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It is a very common and dangerous medical problem.

Metabolic syndrome is defined as the presence of 3 or more of the following health conditions:

• excess weight around the waist (waist measurement of more than 40 inches for men and more than 35 inches for women)
• triglycerides blood level of 150 mg/dL or more
• HDL cholesterol levels below 40 mg/dL for men and below 50 mg/dL for women
• blood pressure of 130/85 mm HG or higher
• prediabetes (a fasting blood sugar between 100 and 125) or diabetes (a fasting blood sugar level over 125 mg/dL).

Other terms used for metabolic syndrome are insulin resistance syndrome and syndrome X.

Gang! This is really big. Many people are walking around at risk and have no idea. It is easy to find out what is going on and how to make the best choices for health. Be aware. A simple annual blood test. A few calculations and you are informed! You don't even have to go through your dr for the tests...www.directlabs.com, comprehensive wellness package will tell you volumes about your health status. Have someone read the results functionally or call me and I'll do it. It's too easy not to check in at least once a year.

Educating and informing today!! ~j