They sponsored a health screening at work today. I decided to participate for the perks, and for curiosity. After all, I get these numbers each year during my annual physical.
What I didn’t expect was the lack of perspective and numbers insanity that my results would create.
Okay, the first station started out fine:
Weight: 176.8
Height: 5 ft 11 inches
BMI: 24.6
BMI was supposed to be in the 18.5 to 24.9 range, so I was normal. Besides which, BMI doesn’t take into account muscular builds, and I’m working on that at the gym, so being at the high end of normal isn’t an issue for me.
Station two was the blood pressure: 108/72 Since they want 120/80 or less I was fine.
It was station three, the blood test that the numbers got interesting.
At the doctor’s office I usually get a 106 total cholesterol, The results here were:
Total Cholesterol: 113
HDL (“good”): 38
Ratio of TC/HDL: 2.9
Glucose: 88
Now, desirable for total cholesterol is less than 200. In fact, in tests I had elsewhere, they once told me desirable was 100-200, so I am at the low end of the expected range.
The Ratio of TC/HDL they use the ratio to determine whether you are at average risk of heart disease, above or below. A smaller number is better. A 5 is average, and 3.4 means you are at half the risk. Since I am at a 2.9 that means I am at a much lower risk of heart disease.
But it is the 38 of HDL that is the kicker. They want you to have greater than 60 to be desirable, 40-60 to be acceptable, and less than 40 (38 is barely less) to put me in an abnormal/high risk range. So I am low risk on two categories, but high on another. Now the question is, why am I high risk? because they are judging this by an absolute number, yet since my total cholesterol is so low, my 38 is a higher percentage of my total cholesterol than someone who has the 60 they want but had total cholesterol of 200, which is borderline risk.
I seem to recall having this with my doctor each year, and he isn’t concerned with it. The person at the screening gave me the pointers on the handout about my diet.
They didn’t write down the LDL on the sheet, but I can calculate that easily. A TC of 113 and HDL of 38 leaves 75 for LDL. the LDL chart says less than 100 is optimal, 100-129 is near optimal, 130-159 is borderline, and 160-189 is high with 190 very high. So I have three optimal stats and one high risk.
To keep my good 2.9 ratio, and increase my HDLs to 60, I would have to increase my TC to 178, which would give me an LDL of 118 — getting close to borderline high.
It just goes to show that looking at a chart to decide on your health, without context is a crazy way to live life.
The glucose range was supposed to be optimal at less than 100, so my 88 was fine.
At The Rainbow 