Hi all,

My medical insurance rewards me (with a points based system) for doing regular health screening tests. They require that a glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI be done.

I have only every had my blood pressure taken and it was low at the time but that was many many year ago. I would like to take the above tests (mainly to earn points, although I am somewhat curious of the results).

My question is that since I will be having the tests done is there any other tests that anyone recommends having done so that I can get them done at the same time? Anything that anyone does on a regular basis and believes it to be necessary as a preventative measure?

Thank you.

I have only every had my blood pressure taken and it was low at the time but that was many many year ago. I would like to take the above tests (mainly to earn points, although I am somewhat curious of the results).

Ask to see the actual levels of the results with the normative values. This is often available. Then go on the internet and read what each of them mean. The cholesterol will be part of a lipid screen which has other interesting numbers, in particular your triglycerides.

I am in the medical field and deal with this kind of question every day.

BMI (Body Mass Index) is simply a calculation based on height and weight. The equation looks like this:

BMI = Weight (in kilograms) / [Height (in meters)]^2

In your case, according to your posted stats:
82 kg / (1.80 m)^2
BMI = 25.3

The BMI charts have so-called normal ranges, but they don't account for body build, especially not for muscle mass, so that muscular individuals appear "overweight" according to the chart. Obviously that's not always the case, but it's a simple tool to be applied to the majority of people with average builds.

BMI < 25 - normal
25 - 30 - overweight
> 30 - obese


As far as the other tests, all but glucose are considered standard measures for otherwise healthy individuals at a routine "physical" according to national guidelines. If there is any family history of diabetes or other reason to be concerned about the glucose (e.g. obesity) then glucose is important, but otherwise not very helpful (but satisfying to know). For otherwise healthy individuals from ages 20-50, BP and cholesterol are the only essential regular tests.

There is danger in checking other studies when there is no indication for them, as you will then be stuck with not knowing what to do with an abnormal study and might be subjected to expensive ancillary testing with a low likelihood of ever finding anything relevant. Trust me on this one. :nono:

P.S. Make sure you are fasting (nothing but water for 8+ hours) for measurement of cholesterol and glucose. :gl:

Hi there Cityman,

Thanks for that reply. I am aware of the dangers of the BMI readings but they are a requirement of my medical insurance.

Thanks for the other info, I did not know that I should fast before having glucose and cholesterol tested.

Good point about the other tests too.

Thanks once again.:tu::tu:

Hi all,

I have just had my glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol tested...

Glucose: 5.4 (Normal)
Blood Pressure: 130/75 (Normal)
Cholesterol: 5.79 (Very high :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:)

WTF?

How can that be? My diet is super clean. I exercise all the time.

The nurse said that it must be hereditary!

So what now?

Genetics is a HUGE factor in cholesterol levels. There are many people who eat perfectly, exercise religiously, and are at a perfect body weight who will always have high cholesterol.

Thank your parents! . . . and their's. . . and so on

Since there is an association between high cholesterol and increased risk of heart disease, some people ultimately need to consider breaking down and taking medication for it, even though they're otherwise perfectly fit. Of course there are side effects with that as well and no one wants to rely on a medication, but if it means cutting your risk of heart disease it's not always such a bad thing in the bigger picture. Obviously that's a discussion you would have with your physician.

Keep in mind that there is more to interpreting cholesterol levels than just looking at the total level. The mix of LDL, HDL, and Triglycerides is important to know as far as deciding appropriate intervention.

Glucose: 5.4 (Normal)
Blood Pressure: 130/75 (Normal)
Cholesterol: 5.79 (Very high :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:)


The Blood Pressure is OK but the first number is slightly higher than what corresponds to the second number. The second number is the more important of the two though.

When you say your cholesterol is very high, I assume it's your total cholesterol? Your number of 5.79 appears to be total cholesterol in units of mmol/L. A lot of times, cholesterol is measured in mg/dL, where your number is about 222 mg/dL.

OK so that is borderline high.

But it's not all bad news. My total cholesterol is about 200-210. Your state of hydration makes a big difference. And the results from one lab to another can be different by a few percent - I recently had two different labs analyze samples from the same blood draw and one came out 201 and the other came in 211. (This was for two different insurance companies). So that shows that 5% variation can happen just because of different labs doing the analysis.

Now back in 2003 my total cholesterol was 255 - higher than yours is now. Exercise alone has reduced that to the 200 or so that it is now. But much more important is that the exercise has increased my HDL cholesterol to a high level (60-70 mg/dL). The HDL cholesterol is good, and it is better to have more. The LDL cholesterol is bad, and that is the one you want to keep down.

When you do endurance exercise, the HDL cholesterol increases, so the ratio of the total cholesterol to the HDL cholesterol decreases. This "cholesterol ratio" is important enough that insurance companies pay more and more attention (in terms of ratings) to the ratio than the total level when the level is around the range that we are talking about.

A "healthy" level of cholesterol ratio is about 5. If you get it down around 3, then your slightly elevated total cholesterol is probably not causing much risk.

From this page: (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=183)

People whose cholesterol level is from 200 to 239 mg/dL are borderline high risk. About a third of American adults are in this (borderline) group; almost half of adults have total cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL.

Have your cholesterol and HDL rechecked in one to two years if:
Your total cholesterol is in this range.
Your HDL is less than 40 mg/dL.
You don’t have other risk factors for heart disease.
You should also lower your intake of foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol to reduce your blood cholesterol level to below 200 mg/dL. Your doctor may order another blood test to measure your LDL cholesterol. Ask your doctor to discuss your LDL cholesterol with you. Even if your total cholesterol is between 200 and 239 mg/dL, you may not be at high risk for a heart attack. Some people — such as women before menopause and young, active men who have no other risk factors — may have high HDL cholesterol and desirable LDL levels. Ask your doctor to interpret your results. Everyone's case is different.

So you should ask about your HDL number. It really matters in your case "young, active men who have no other risk factors".

When you say your cholesterol is very high, I assume it's your total cholesterol? Your number of 5.79 appears to be total cholesterol in units of mmol/L. A lot of times, cholesterol is measured in mg/dL, where your number is about 222 mg/dL.


The 5.79 is probably the total/HDL ratio. My total at one point was 323, and got it down to 240. No matter how clean I eat, it won't go much below 240. Luckily, with diet/exercise, I've been able to raise my HDL from the low 20's to the high 50's.

Hi,

The nurse who did the test said that it was my cholesterol ratio. Whatever that means. I see some of you are talking about it here.

I am going to see my doctor though to have it explained a bit better.

Thanks for your replies so far, this is new territory for me.

Hi,

The nurse who did the test said that it was my cholesterol ratio. Whatever that means. I see some of you are talking about it here.

OK the cholesterol ratio is the ratio of total cholesterol to the HDL cholesterol. 5.79 is not great, but it's not horrible.

Once you have a good diet, the best way to lower that is endurance exercise.

The 5.79 is probably the total/HDL ratio. My total at one point was 323, and got it down to 240. No matter how clean I eat, it won't go much below 240. Luckily, with diet/exercise, I've been able to raise my HDL from the low 20's to the high 50's.

Yeah he says it's his cholesterol ratio. Once you have a good diet, your total cholesterol tends to be hard to change that much. But the ratio is still dependent on the amount of endurance exercise, which has a profound impact on HDL cholesterol.

If you do lactate threshold training, then you will raise your HDL cholesterol a lot. Strength training raises it, but not as much. The sort of stuff I do is sort of designed to increase the HDL as much as possible.