If I Was Only Taller

November 27, 2016 – 

This morning I was talking with a friend and we got into a conversation about height as he joked that his wife thought she was shrinking.  I right away said “well we all shrink with the aging process”, then we both shared stories of our Dad’s big height changes prior to going to the great vacation in heaven.

My point was simple nonetheless, we atrophy with age; our bones lose density and start to bend slightly, the padding (meniscus) between them begins to break-down and lose depth.  The muscles lose size due to chemical changes and often the lack of heavy weight training and exercise needed to maintain their great strength and density. If you are reading this and were unaware that you are shrinking … welcome to your future. You are not going to be as tall as you are right now in a few years.  Honest.

The height conversation was a wonderful segway into the bodyweight talk that followed.  As you might guess, if you are a certain weight and wish to remain that weight as you age … and lose your height, you one day might look a little bit wider in the middle.  Think about it; if you take a steak, a loaf of bread, or maybe a cake and push them from two ends … the mass has to go somewhere … the middle bulges out.  (You just took a deep breath didn’t you?)  Let’s talk about body composition OK!?

Body composition is the makeup of the body in terms of the relative percentage of lean body mass and body fat.  According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, your body must have some fat. It must carry enough body-fat to pad your organs, insulate your organs, and store enough calories to protect you from starvation in the case you opt not to eat.

However, too much of a good thing can be hazardous to your health.  Now the way I see it weight loss should be determined by how you feel in your own body.  You know if you are ok with your weight … nobody else knows how you feel.  Unfortunately, due to peer pressure, media pressure, holiday pressure, most of us think we are fat and are dieting or thinking about dieting a large part of our lives.  Remember, exercise matters!

Since I have been in school the standard to determine body composition has been the BMI protocol, or the Body Mass Index. It has been ‘state of the art’ since the 1800’s anyhow.  Body mass index (BMI) is an index widely used to define obesity. However,  BMI does not always accurately indicate the degree of fatness.

Today when it comes to this conversation, we realize the BMI did not account for athletes or someone who had a higher percentage of muscle or lean mass.  There is a new method that makes things fair, the ‘waist to height ratio’ formula.  The degree of central fat distribution may be more closely tied to metabolic risks than BMI. Measurement of the degree of central fat distribution appears to be important for the early detection of subsequent health risks, even among those of normal weight. Waist-to-height ratio (W/Ht) corresponds better to metabolic risk than BMI.

Check out the calculator to look at this protocol.Waist/Height Ratio Calculator

If you don’t like your results and want to make changes to that body of yours, call me today. I am rather certain you are not going to get much taller.

In good health,

Bob

“You’re damned if you’re too thin. You’re damned if you’re too heavy.  I’ve been both.  It’s impossible to satisfy everyone and I suggest we stop trying.” – Jennifer Aniston.

 

 

Don’t Forget: Saturday, December 3rd … join us for the FIT Holiday Celebration.