Category Archives: Changing Behaviors

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Myth 3 – Some People Normally Have a Higher BMI & They Are Healthy

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Some people say that everyone in their family was overweight and they lived into their 80’s or 90’s.  The thinking here is that a high BMI poses no health risk for some people.  Since genetics plays a huge role in determining a lot of things including our metabolism, it’s probably true that some people are predisposed to have a higher BMI, but that doesn’t make it less of a risk factor.  Your risk for illnesses comes from an interplay of many risk factors.  So someone may have favorable risks because they are genetically predisposed to having lower blood pressure and cholesterol, but they have a family tendency of being overweight or obese.   Compared to someone with high blood pressure and high cholesterol who is also overweight, they will have a lower risk of heart disease.  However, if they lower their BMI, they will have an even lower risk.

I have a family history of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but that doesn’t mean they are not risk factors for a heart attack or stroke for me.  I need to work on my lifestyle through making healthier food choices and exercising regularly to counteract these risk factors.  The same goes for someone who has a tendency to have a high BMI.  They have to work harder than someone whose genetics have a higher metabolism.

Insights For Health Bottom Line:  Though favorable genetics as shown in your family’s health history may lessen the impact of a high BMI, your risks will be even lower if you maintain a more normal BMI.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob

Myth 2 – The BMI Doesn’t Really Mean Anything

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Some people say all the publicity about using the BMI is part of a conspiracy by the weight loss industry, and the BMI serves no useful purpose.  This is wrong.  There are many studies that show that people who have a higher BMI are at risk for serious illnesses.  For instance, the higher the BMI,  the greater the risk of a heart attack.  Most importantly, the reverse is true.  If you decrease your BMI you decrease your risk of stroke and heart attack.   Another study in women shows that women with a BMI over 29 have a 3.3 times greater chance of a fatal or non-fatal heart attack within the next eight years than women with a BMI less than 21.  BMI values between 18.5 and 24.9 are considered normal.  These results were adjusted for age and smoking status, meaning that comparisons were made between women of the same age and smoking status so any differences in heart attack risk could not be attributed to either of those factors. 

Insights For Health Bottom Line: A high BMI increases your health risks for many serious medical conditions, but other factors can also affect those risks.  BMI is a modifiable risk factor – something you can do something about to lower your risks.

Next time we’ll consider the myth that for some people a high BMI is normal.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob

BMI – Separating Facts From Fiction

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From time to time I read comments or articles that are critical of judging a person’s weight by using the Body Mass Index (BMI). I have heard that there is a recent film that calls its usefulness into question. Being a physician, I thought I should clarify some of the more common misconceptions surrounding it. In my next few posts I’ll discuss some of the more common myths about the BMI and point out some facts to help you understand how it should be used and why it’s important:

Myth 1 – BMI Doesn’t Really Measure Obesity

This one is partially true. The BMI uses a person’s weight & their height to calculate a measure that best approximates a person’s bulk. Clearly weight alone is not helpful since it varies according to height. Including height tends to make BMI measures more comparable. The one big flaw is that it cannot distinguish the body composition of an individual – how much of their weight is due to fat versus muscle or bone. Consequently, a muscular weight lifter who has a low amount of body fat may have a BMI that suggests he is overweight or obese. All health care professionals are aware of this limitation and would not draw any conclusions about a person’s health based on their BMI alone. But you just have to look around to realize that most of our fellow Americans are not body builders and the odds are that an elevated BMI in an American is due to an excess amount of fat.

Bottom Line: While BMI alone isn’t a perfect measure of a person’s body fat, it gives a good approximation.Health care professionals will consider it and other measurements in assessing the proper weight range for an individual.

In my next post I’ll discuss another myth I’ve heard that the BMI really is not useful.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob

Don’t Let Snacks Weigh You Down!

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For many of us, unhealthy snacking can quickly sabotage our weight loss plans.  While writing this post, my mind kept wandering to the kitchen thinking what I could eat.  We often reach for a bag of chips or cookies when watching television or surfing the web.  Many experts view this as a byproduct of our more sedentary lifestyle.  Not only do we not exercise and burn calories, but we add to the problem by consuming more.

If you need help with your snacking, schedule some Health-e Texts on www.InsightsForHealth.com to help you resist the temptations.  You can schedule them to remind you to stick to your healthy meal plan just when you’ll need the help.

How Do You Schedule Them?

That’s very simple:

  1. You need to go to www.InsightsForHealth.com and Register to become a member. That is absolutely free at this time. Make sure that you correctly enter your cell phone number, select your cell phone carrier and click OK to give us permission to send you text messages. Remember, applicable text message charges from your cell phone carrier will apply.
  2. Once registered, Log In to the Members Only section.
  3. Then select Health-e Texts from the menu on top. You’ll be taken to a page that describes the service and has a list of the various kinds of Health-e Texts you can send yourself on the left.
  4. Choose one of the Snack options from the list on the left & just select the start & stop dates, the time you want to receive your daily text and your time zone. Click Save & you’re done. You’ll start getting your snacking Health-e Texts on the day you chose.

View Your Health-e Text Schedule or Change Your Mind

You’ll also notice two selections at the bottom of the menu bar at the left, one will let you view your schedule of Health-e Texts and the other will allow you to delete any you choose. You’re in control.

I hope you try these out and I’ll be looking for your feedback!

For Your Health – Dr. Bob

A Poll On Weekend Snacking

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One of the most common pitfalls of most weight loss plans is snacking.  I was just curious as to what times of day on the weekend people are most likely to snack.  If you have a moment, please take this brief poll to help me gather some information.

Thanks – Dr. Bob