6 Tips to Tell if You Are Healthy

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Millions of people begin each new calendar with goals aimed at helping them to get healthy. Others may take more stock in their current health situation when something happens that sends them to the doctor, giving them a wake-up call, or when they hit a certain age. The problem with this is that most people know what healthy is, but they aren’t quite sure how to assess themselves to see if they meet the definition. The more you know about what it means to be healthy and what to look for, the more you know if you are on the right track to meet and maintain those goals.

The good news for many is that it isn’t just one thing that makes someone healthy or not. It is a variety of factors that should be looked at to determine if someone is healthy. Looking at only one of the factors, such as someone’s weight, does not tell the whole story and can be misleading. After all, there are plenty of normal weight individuals who are not healthy.

“Often times, people judge health just on someone’s physical appearance, but there’s more to it than that,” explains Coach Sarah Walls, personal trainer and owner of SAPT Strength & Performance Training, Inc., who is also the strength and conditioning coach for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. “There is more to it than that when it comes to being healthy. We need to look at some individual signs and consider those that we may not be able to see by looking at someone.”

Here are some effective ways you can help determine if you are healthy or not.

Waist Size

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While weight is not the only deciding factor in determining one’s overall health, it does hold a piece to the puzzle. Yet there may be a better clue that can shed light on health, which is a person’s waist circumference, according to the National Institutes of Health. They report that people are at a higher risk for such things as heart disease and type 2 diabetes if their waist circumference is more than 40 inches for males and 35 inches for females. Just grab a tape measure and use it around the middle section of the waist. Get the circumference number after breathing out. Avoid trying to suck in the stomach, rather just stand with good posture to take the test. If your circumference is larger than they recommend, it may mean it’s time to make some changes and bring it down to a healthier number.

Fitness Ablity

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One of the most common fitness tests that people do is the walk test. To do this, take a one-mile brisk walk and see how long it takes to complete. Those who can complete that walk in 15 minutes or less are considered to be at a good fitness level. Another quick fitness test is to try and hold a plank position for at least 30 seconds. Ideally, people should be getting at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity, which includes biking, walking, running, dancing, etc., per week. In addition, they should aim to get two days of strength training exercises in. Working with a personal trainer is an effective way to help people reach their fitness goals, and many people today are turning to online personal training and coaching, which makes it more convenient.

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