Did you know that your BMI plays a part in what premium you receive when taking out a life insurance policy? A quick use of an online calculator can help you be prepared when it comes to finding your BMI, but there is more to you than just your BMI when measuring your health.
Here are four ways to check your health beyond your body mass index.
How to check your BMI?
Over the years health practitioners have debated whether using your BMI as a measurement of health is still accurate. While it is most certainly handy in estimating your level of health, it doesn't always paint the full picture. Therefore, reaching out to your doctor and dietician can help give you a rounded review to the state of your health. However, for those who choose the D.I.Y route, it is crucial to measure your waist for an accurate reading. A larger waist circumference is known to increase circulating levels of inflammatory markers, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease.
Resting heart rate
Your health also relies on the ever-great pumping organ that nestles in your chest. The number of times your heart beats per minute is an indicator of how healthy and efficient your cardiovascular system is. But what is a good resting heart rate? When your body is completely at rest, a good time is when you are about to sleep or have just woken up, check your pulse and count the number of beats for 30 seconds and multiply by two. A good resting heart rate can be as low as 40 beats but on average this could be anything between 60 - 100 beats a minute.
Sleep patterns
Sleep also plays a role when it comes to assisting our bodies with recovering from the day. However, having disrupted sleep can have a knock-on effect and increase our chances of falling ill. Falling asleep within the first 5-10minutes of getting into bed is usually an indicator of not getting enough sleep. While it is recommended that adults should get in a good 8 hours of sleep, aiming for 6-7 hours of sleep is still a good way to allow your body to recover and get rid of toxins in your body.
Skin
Your skin can be a map of what state your health is in. Checking your skin for any key differences such as changes in moles, cracks in the corner of your mouth which can be a symptom of low iron, dryness and bruising could be indicators of poor health. Making sure that you go for regular check-ups and keeping an eye out for any changes in your skin can help you catch some serious health issues such as skin cancer before it becomes too late.
