Health

Basic health measurements. The four most common vital signs are body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure.

• Body Temperature. The old normal temperature when measured orally was 37.0 C = 98.6 F, but this has been adjusted to 36.8 C (±0.7) = 98.2 F (±1.3).
• Heart Rate (HR). Measured in beats per minute (bpm). [ref]
  • Resting HR: HR when at complete rest. This is the standard measurement and is an indicator of basic fitness. Lower is better. EG: George's Resting HR = 60 bpm.
  • Average HR: Average HR during an exercise period.
  • Recovery HR: HR 2 minutes after an exercise period.
  • Morning HR: HR immediately after awakening and before you get out of bed.
  • Maximum HR: The max safe HR during the intense exercise.
    • Measured Max HR. Usually measured by a cardiologist or exercise physiologist.
    • Predicted Max HR. An age-adjusted formula for adults. There are more complex formulas, but the following are usually sufficient.
      • Women: 226-your age
      • Men: 220-your age
      EG: George's Max HR = 220 - 40 = 180 bpm.
  • HR Reserve: Max HR - Resting HR. Larger is better. A person with a lower Resting HR will have a larger HR Reserve. EG: George's HR Reserve = 180 - 60 = 120.
  • Max VO2: The HR at maximum oxygen intake effort, usu. 95% Max HR.
  • Target HR or Training HR (THR).
    • The two most common methods for determining the THR is %Max HR Method and the Karvonen Method.
      1. THR = Max HR * %Intensity
      2. THR = (HR Reserve * %Intensity) + Resting HR
    • The HR to achieve during exercise. THR is correlated with %Intensity, which should range from 50% to 95%. EG: George THR range via the two THR methods are 90-171 bpm and 120-174 bpm.
      • 50-60%: For George this is either 90-108 or 120-132. Healthy Heart. Warm Up. A Safety HR for beginning exercise. 85% of calories burned here are fat.
      • 60-70%: For George this is either 108-126 or 132-144. Fitness Zone. Fat Burning. 85% of calories burned here are fat.
      • 70-80%: For George this is either 126-144 or 144-156. Aerobic Zone. Endurance Training. 50% of calories burned here are fat.
      • 80-90%: For George this is either 144-162 or 156-168. Anaerobic Zone. Performance Training. 15% of calories burned here are fat.
      • 90-95%: For George this is either 162-171 or 168-174. Red Line. Maximum Effort.
  • Here are average resting heart rates by age:
    • Newborns and Infants: 130-150
    • Toddlers: 100-130
    • Children: 90-110
    • Adolescents: 80-100
    • Adults: 70 avg. for males. 75 avg. for females.
• Respiratory Rate. Measured in breaths per minute. This is hard to measure if the person is conscious of that it's being measured. Hence it is very difficult to measure your own respiratory rate. (In healthcare they sneak it in while they're taking your heart rate.) Here are average respiratory rates by age:
  • Newborn: 44
  • Infants: 20-40
  • Toddlers: 20-30
  • Children: 16-25
  • Adolescents and Adults: 10-20
• Blood Pressure (BP). Measured in mm Hg. Usually presented as Systolic/Diastolic. [ref]
  • Systolic is the pressure when the heart is contracted.
    • Normal: < 120
    • Prehypertension: 120-139.
    • Hypertension, Stage 1: 140-159
    • Hypertension, Stage 2: 160+
  • Diastolic is the pressure when the heart is relaxed.
    • Normal: < 80
    • Prehypertension: 80-89.
    • Hypertension, Stage 1: 90-99
    • Hypertension, Stage 2: 100+
• Height.
• Weight.
• Body Mass Index (BMI). An estimate of total body fat based on height and weight. The equation is (K × MASS) ÷ HEIGHT². The metric equation uses K=1, Kg, and m. The US equation uses K=704.5, pounds and inches. Exceptions to a high BMI score include competitive athletes and body builders, whose BMI is high due to increased muscle mass, and women who are pregnant or lactating. The BMI is also not intended for use in measuring growing children or elderly individuals. [ref]
  • 20 (19 for women) and below is Underweight.
  • 20-24.99 is Normal Weight.
  • 25-29.99 is Overweight.
  • 30-34.99 is Obese Class1.
  • 35-39.99 is Obese Class 2.
  • 40 and above is Morbidly Obese. 
• Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR). Weight is better if distributed around the hips (pear shaped) than the waist (apple shaped). The equation is Waist Circumference divided by Hip Circumference. [ref]
  • Women should be 0.8 or less. 0.7 is most fertile.
  • Men should be 0.95 or less.
• Cholesterol.
  • "Bad cholesterol" = low-density lipoprotein = LDL. Should be less than 100 mg/dL = 2.6 mmol/L.
  • "Good cholesterol" = high-density lipoprotein = HDL.

Page Modified: (Hand noted: 2007-10-24 04:56:04Z) (Auto noted: 2008-01-13 03:04:00Z)