Healthy live

Exercise is an essential component of healthy living. It not only increases the level of HDL (“good”) cholesterol in the blood, but also reduces the level of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. In addition, it helps us to maintain our weight within a healthy range, lower our blood sugar levels, and improve our overall cardiovascular fitness. A physically active person is approximately 1.5 times less likely to develop heart disease and 30-50% less likely to be hypertensive. Conversely, lack of exercise may leave a person more vulnerable to developing diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. Fortunately, exercise need not be overly strenuous before we are able to derive health benefits from it. Just 20 minutes of physical activity (for instance, brisk walking, aerobic dancing, swimming) at least three times a week can substantially reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

What is BMI?

BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is used a measure of body fat in adults and help assess whether you are at risk for weight-related health problems. A healthy BMI for adults is between 18.5 and 22.9.

You measure your BMI as shown:

BMI =	______Your Weight (kg)_______
	Height (metres) x Height (metres)

BMI (kg/m2) (for adults)	Risk of Heart Disease and Diabetes
27.5 and above	High Risk
23.0 – 27.4	Moderate Risk
18.5 – 22.9	Low Risk (healthy range)
Less than 18.5	Risk of nutritional deficiency diseases and osteoporosis

HDL cholesterol (the good stuff) and more LDL and triglycerides (both bad)

Desirable Cholesterol Levels
Cholesterol in mmol/L (mg/dl)	Average Adult (without known coronary risk factors)	Adult with heart disease / diabetes / other coronary risk factors
LDL Cholesterol	< style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">	< style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">
HDL Cholesterol	≥ 1.0 (40)	≥ 1.0 (40)
Total Cholesterol	< style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">	< style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">

The American Heart Association has set guidelines for triglyceride levels:

Level mg/dL	Level mmol/L	Interpretation
<150	<1.69	Normal range, low risk
150-199	1.70-2.25	Borderline high
200-499	2.26-5.65	High
>500	>5.65	Very high: high risk

The International Diabetes Federation and American College of Endocrinology recommend Hb_A1c values below 6.5%, while American Diabetes Association recommends that the Hb_A1c be below 7.0% for most patients. A high Hb_A1c represents poor glucose control. Persistent elevations in blood sugar (and therefore Hb_A1c) increase the risk for the long-term vascular complications of diabetes such as coronary disease, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, blindness, erectile dysfunction, neuropathy (loss of sensation, especially in the feet), gangrene, and gastroparesis (slowed emptying of the stomach). Poor blood glucose control also increases the risk of short-term complications of surgery such as poor wound healing.

The approximate mapping between Hb_A1c values and average blood glucose measurements over the previous 4-12 weeks is shown in the table.

HbA1c (%)	Avg. Blood Sugar
	(mmol/L)	(mg/dL)
4	3.3	60
5	5.0	90
6	6.7	120
7	8.3	150
8	10.0	180
9	11.7	210
10	13.3	240
11	15.0	270
12	16.7	300
13	18.3	330
14	20.0	360

Typical values for a resting, healthy adult human are approximately 120 mmHg systolic and 80 mmHg diastolic (written as ¹²⁰/₈₀ mmHg, and spoken as "one twenty over eighty")

Classification of blood pressure for adults
Category	systolic, mmHg	diastolic, mmHg
Hypotension*	<90	or <60 style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">
Normal	90–119	and 60–79
Prehypertension	120–139	or 80–89
Stage 1 Hypertension	140–159	or 90–99
Stage 2 Hypertension	≥160	or ≥100

* Hypotension is a medical concern only if it causes signs or symptoms, such as dizziness, fainting, or in extreme cases, shock.