The Dangers of the Current "Health Calculators"

     Ok, so if you haven't heard, I'm all about fitness. I'm not about being skinny or fitting into a size two jeans, I'm about being a healthy, strong, and fit individual and have based my career around it. I have been known to rail against "BMI" calculators in the past. This calculator takes your height and weight (sometimes they throw age in there), plug it into a formula, and viola! They tell you what your percentage of body fat is based solely on those indicators. (This is the most prominent and easiest version to calculate BMI, others include water based testing, electric current testing, and the "pinch test" all of which can be more accurate, but I still disagree with.) Then this "tool" is used to decide if you are healthy or not. It's something that has always irked me.
     For the way I look and for my fitness level, most people would never guess that I weigh as much as I  do. When a person reaches a certain fitness level, using weight as a health measurement is inaccurate and dangerous. Don't get me wrong, I understand that weight can be an important indicator of health and fitness, but I also believe that throwing "calculators" out online that will tell you if you are healthy or not leads to more health crisis'  in America: anorexia, anemia, bulimia, and apathy.

Me and Daris from Biggest Loser Season 9

     This morning, I woke up at 4:30 and hit the gym. I started out with a paced three mile run followed by an hour of free weights. I log a food journal and aim to get between 1400 and 1700 calories a day and ensure I consume no less than 50 grams of protein. I am fit, healthy and feel great. (For reference, I wear a size 5 jean).
     I have ranted before regarding my frustration at going to the USDA nutrition website, plugging in my information to check my health level and being told by the United States Government that I am overweight and should consult my physician about a nutrition and exercise regime. (To double check, I just revisited the site and was told the same thing.)
     Recently, I read how physicians are turning away from BMI and are moving to a new method to determine health: the waist to hip ratio. The idea is two fold; first, science has shown that where you store fat is as much an indicator of health as how much fat you have. Storing fat in your stomach is more detrimental than say your hips or thighs (This is a whole other discussion. If you want to ask about this, I'll do a whole other blog on it). Second, it uses the measurements to determine your mass in comparison to what a "healthy" individual would have. Combine these two and physicians are saying it is a new and more accurate indicator. It's ridiculous and more skewed than BMI. In my humble opinion.

Me this last December 19th.

     I googled: hip to waist ratio calculator. Found a prominent link, followed it to www.healthstatus.com and plugged in my measurements. I was totally baffled by my results. My waist is 29 inches, my hips are 35. The results were the following: "Your shape puts you at increased risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Frequently referred to as apple shape, you tend to keep fat at your midsection and less on your hips. Your body converts this upper body fat to energy whenever your body runs short. This raises cholesterol and blood pressure."
     Ummmm, excuse me? Hello? I have a 29 inch waist and 35 inch hips and I am being told that I have an apple shape? I thought that something was off and so I re-typed my information. Same result. I have never had an apple shape. Ever. I carry my weight in my legs and hips. Always have, always will. Also, the "warning" the measurements gave me sound really scary! It's telling me that I am at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and a stroke without any additional information on me. That's a really terrifying result to be given. Not to mention completely inaccurate. 
    These type of generic calculators and health tests are adding to the unhealthy epidemic that plagues the United States and it is really starting to piss me off. Not make me mad, not annoy me, but I am to the point where I am genuinely pissed off.
    First of all, there are many young teenagers (and adults as well) that go online everyday and use these tools to see if they are normal and decide if they are "fat" or not. Most teenagers aren't concerned with health, they are concerned with labels and image. Are they fat? These kids have the very real possibility of being told that they are overweight and unhealthy (in any teenagers mind: fat) by the United States Government and a plethera of other corresponding websites. This leads to depression, body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia, etc. and it is NOT ok.

Aj & I in May of last year.

    I was a big girl when I was a pre-teen. I was mocked mercilessly. Fat? Called that. Chub? That's my nick name. To this day, I hate being called cute. "The fat girl with the pretty face is always 'the cute girl.'" I never went to Prom and in fact, only was asked to one dance. Ever. Teenagers have enough to deal with in highschool without the health world, the Government, and all of society telling these perfectly normal and healthy kids that they are overweight and fat.
   Then the reverse also happens: total apathy. When an individual who has worked so hard to become fit and healthy, when they are so proud of themselves for dropping those pant sizes and then go online only to receive those very scary and inaccurate warnings, people give up. Nothing they do is good enough. They can't win, so why try? The exercise stops. The healthy living stops. And the weight piles back on. It happens all the time. And it is so wrong. My heart goes out to those people. I want to just look them in their eyes and tell them, "You are wonderful. You are healthy. They are wrong, not you." Seriously, it tears me up.
    Obesity is a disease and it is very real epidemic in the United States. I get that. TRUST ME, I get it. I want to help people understand that they can be healthy. They can fight it and win. Anyone and everyone can be healthy. It is a huge passion of mine to help as many as I can. At the same time, putting out inaccurate information and calculators of health is just as bad and not only perpetuate the problem, but creates new and just as unhealthy ones.
   There isn't a way to wrap up this blog in a nice little bow, I just wanted to rant a little bit. Please, if you have ever used these standards and thought, "Oh my! Seriously?" Know that they can be used as a guideline and tools to track progress and get a baseline but do not let them define who you are or your current health level. Please.