Measuring Health
If you can't measure it, probably not worth mentioning it.
The health/fitness/weight loss/healthy lifestyle/wellness blah blah whatever you want to call it industry sells the concept of ‘healthy’ or a better life, or some kind of undefinable state of being as the prize and the goal. Words like vitality, energy, vigor, wellness and the like are used…what a load of BS…look at those words, they’re utterly meaningless.
When it comes to marketing ‘health’ there are some things that can be measured and some that can’t. The medical profession and most scientists stick with what is measurable including:
Blood Lipids and Cholestserol (this includes total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides etc)
Blood Glucose
Insulin
Heart Rate
Blood Pressure
Body Weight
% Body Fat
From there you can do more complex tests for other parameters but these are the major ones. If these values are in good standing then you’re about as healthy as any physician or scientist can measure.
However debates over what is ‘healthy’ typically don’t end with these types of measurements being presented, instead marketers, bloggers and readers will argue over the merits of a supplement or food or nutrient or diet style without:
A) Trying said supplement or food or diet on themselves
and most importantly:
B) Testing the results of using said supplement or food or diet
Sure some people will say “I used it and I felt great and had lots of energy” <– this is entirely unscientific and meaningless. After all I can ‘feel’ great after 6 beers, or really ‘energized’ after a cup of coffee, doesn’t mean either has anything to do with my overall health.
Describing results based on the way we ‘feel’ and how much ‘energy’ we have is not a useful or measurable end point, in fact it’s not even worth commenting on. If it were, then I would have to assume that these people have felt like crap for their entire life leading up to their adoption of this new supplement/diet/nutrition program that they are reporting these results on….not likely.
Measurable parameters are what matter. The rest is subjective opinions that can never been proven debated or disproven so they’re not really worth mentioning.
If someone is marketing you a supplement or health product or program based on how it makes you ‘feel’ you might want to think twice about it. If they can’t give a more detailed explanation of what you can expect then you shouldn’t expect anything at all.
John
11 Responses to “Measuring Health”
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May 27th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Well said, John.
I suppose one (and many do) could define “healthy” as meeting a certain standard of at least some of the aforementioned parameters, e.g. cholesterol, body fat %, heart rate, and blood pressure. But only until it is defined does “healthy” have any practical meaning.
May 27th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
They might not have “felt like crap”, couldn’t they just have felt “less energetic”?
I take your point on “energy” being difficult to measure, and while it isn’t an indicator of health per se, I would say it’s a measure of well-being, or life satisfaction maybe, and thus worth pursuing.
If a person drank 2-3 cups of coffee a day and felt a satisfactory amount of energy, then cut out coffee and started a supplement which left them feeling the same amount of energy without caffeine, would that be measurable enough?
May 27th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Shaun, in your example, we can only ascertain that coffee gave MORE energy, but how much more is not measurable. That’s an important distinction to note.
I’m VERY familiar with this problem that John is describing in this blog post. I know how he feels because I feel the same way and have the same exact same criticism with the audiophile industry. It’s 99% bullshit based on immeasurable adjective. You’ll read 5 different review from 5 different “audiophiles” and they’ll all say that this cable makes the sound more “jumpy” or “livelier.” All adjective that have NO MEANING whatsoever. It’s this undefined, ambiguity that allows for so much contradicting and conflicting information.
May 27th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
By the way, that was the best analogy, but you guys know what I mean, haha.
May 27th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
“that was not the best analogy” I mean.
May 28th, 2010 at 11:35 am
John,
What would you think of measuring health by muscle-to-fat ratio? This provides a buffer from anorexia although I know it’s definitely distorted when you can increase the muscle side through drugs.
I just want to know why carrying body fat is not healthy.
Jason
May 28th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Carrying body fat is not unhealthy. Body fat is used by the body for its intended purposes, providing insulation from weather extremes to internal body organs, providing cushioning/spacing to internal organs/joints, and as storage of energy for the lean and mean times.
When body fat storage becomes excess then it’s a problem. For a male carrying excess visceral body fat (i.e excess body-fat around the stomache)can lead to other health conditions. Body fat does increase risk for several health conditions, which can be avoided by shedding excess body fat. You don’t need to show a set of 6-pack abs to be in a health body fat range just not obese or over-weight.
May 29th, 2010 at 4:41 am
That’s a great point, Jaxon.
There is a deliberate confusion of the verb ‘feel’ between psychological and physiological (and gyne… anyway) – you can’t really physiologically ‘feel better’ – (does that mean you/I are/am pain free? Or euphoric?). Hence the lumping of low body fat in with health parameters – which are really markers of ‘time distance from systemic failure’ rather than ‘indicators of vitality’.
I saw a new label for a very well known creatine and protein drink with the claim ‘users reporting felling stronger’. So would I drinking tap water given the right intensives.
May 29th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Hey John,
Totally random question, but in your opinion what hollywood male celebritites that you believe aren’t on drugs have a perfect AI?
May 29th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
I’ve seen certain diets claim that the increased energy levels decrease the amount of hours you need to sleep. Some vegan proponents claims that they go from needing 8 hours to 6 hours of sleep per night, so I guess in a way that is measureable.
I’ve been taking fiber supplements, so i guess I can measure how many times I have a bowel movement.
My sister got a bone density scan done, and the doctor said she lacked vitamin D.
June 28th, 2010 at 3:59 am
You were absolutely right in your article. Measurements must be made to assess progress. As you have rightfully pointed out, we need to measure parameters to assess health and weight loss or fat loss. Most people just go about weight loss blindly without making measurements and wonder why they are not getting results.