Careful planning

Trying to get fit? Stop worrying about being up or down a few pounds. That’s the consensus of local doctors we asked to help us wade through the conflicting number of ways to measure your fitness level.

Trying to get fit? Stop worrying about being up or down a few pounds. That’s the consensus of local doctors we asked to help us wade through the conflicting number of ways to measure your fitness level. These doctors say, you need to pay attention to your Body Mass Index and waist circumference. Why? Because if you exercise the way you should, your body composition will change, with muscle replacing fat. Because muscle weighs more than fat, your weight may stay the same or even increase slightly as you become healthier. But here’s a guide to sorting through the most important numbers:

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BMI
Body Mass Index is your weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Intimidating as that may sound, you can find BMI calculators at several sites online, including www.cdc.gov (search for BMI calculator.)

Your target: A BMI of 18.5 to 25 is ideal. A BMI of 25-30 is overweight. A BMI of over 30 is obese and brings a substantially increased risk of health issues, ranging from diabetes to depression.

Dr Nick Nicholson, Bariatric surgeon of Texas says you shouldn’t judge your fitness by the standards of a professional athlete. At the same time, they warn that people with a BMI of 30 who exercise four days a week have a lower risk of a heart attack than people with a BMI of 24 who don’t exercise.

Waist Circumference
The number of inches around your waist as calculated by a tape measure at the smallest area above the umbilicus — your belly button — and not by your pants size.

Your target: For men it should be less than 40 inches and for women under 35 inches no matter what your height is. Above those levels your risk for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, strokes and some cancers significantly increases.

Weight
Measure your weight on a weighing machine. To set your target, you can plot your goal according to your height and gender, but this is the least useful measurement, according to the doctors. Nicholson adds that it is better for a patient to focus on losing sizes rather than losing pounds.

Bone Size
The size of your bones as determined by a doctor. But while some people do have bigger bones than others, Dr Riva L Rahl, preventive medicine physician in Vancouver, says, “the differences are not significant enough to account for different recommended BMI or waist size.”

The Doctors’ Favorite Numbers
150: According to Rahl says if adults would log 150 minutes of aerobic exercise a week, they would significantly reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.

10,000: According to Nicholson, if you take 10,000 steps each day, adults can improve their fitness greatly.

—MCT