Your health--run the numbers. (American Running Association).

One thing you are likely to get out of a doctor's visit or a consultation with a coach or a trainer is a whole lot of numbers. What do they all mean? How much control do you have over them? Here's your pocket guide to health and fitness by the numbers.

Blood Pressure

Your blood pressure is a measurement of the force of circulating blood against artery walls. It can go up and down throughout the course of a day depending on many variables including stress, exercise, alcohol, and more. Blood pressure is expressed as two numbers representing millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). The first, or systolic, is the pressure measured as the heart beats. The second, or diastolic, is the pressure as the heart relaxes between beats. Normal blood pressure is less than 130/85. Better still is blood pressure of 120/80 mm Hg. Blood pressure that is consistently higher than 140/90 is high, also known as hypertension.

Keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range can protect your heart, kidneys, arteries, brain, and eyes. Even if your diet and lifestyle are excellent, you can be at risk for hypertension. Check your blood pressure regularly since high blood pressure usually causes no symptoms.

Blood Lipid Profiles

Blood lipid chemistry can be a confusing business, but it is important to come to grips with because it is so critical to your good health and longevity. High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis and consequently heart disease and stroke. Although cholesterol may become more difficult to manage as we age, the young and fit are not necessarily immune. Heredity plays a huge role and if you are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol, fatty deposits can begin to accumulate even in childhood.

There are several important measurements: total cholesterol or TC, high density lipoprotein or HDL (the good cholesterol), low density lipoprotein or LDL (the bad cholesterol), triglycerides, and TC/HDL ratio (this is a value calculated by dividing total cholesterol by the high density lipoprotein value. In general, remember that HDLs are the good fats; the lower your HDL, the lower your TC needs to be. The lower your TC/HDL value the lower your risk of disease. Your doctor will probably ask you to fast prior to testing, since some of your results will be higher if you don't.

According to Editorial Board Member Todd Miller, M.D., you will need to remember that cholesterol recommendations may vary depending on your own personal array of risk factors. The guidelines will be stricter for you if you have a history of diabetes, coronary artery disease, or multiple risk factors such as family history or high blood pressure.

Blood Glucose

When you eat, carbohydrates are broken down to glucose, the form of sugar your body uses for energy. Insulin must be present in order for glucose to get into your cells to be used. Normally, your pancreas produces just the right amount to get the job done. But with Type I diabetes the pancreas produces little or no insulin and, glucose builds up in the blood stream and passes out in your urine. The more prevalent Type II diabetes results in a decreased sensitivity to the insulin your pancreas produces. Your fasting plasma glucose level is an indication of your risk to develop diabetes. Levels of 110 to 125 milligrams per deciliter are higher than normal and indicate an increased risk of developing complications affecting the eyes, nerves, and kidneys.

Body Mass Index

Body Mass Index or BMI correlates weight and height and therefore, is a measure of fatness. The simple formula, weight divided by height squared, requires the metric system. Using pounds and inches, weight divided by height, the result divided by height again, the result multiplied by 703 will give you your BMI from English measures. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, over 30 defines obesity. There are several problems with using Body Mass Index as a measure of health risk since it does not take into account fitness, muscle mass, or sex, but it is still a good indicator of excess body fat and obesity.

Bone Density

Bone density tests measure the strength of your bones and reveal whether or not you have developed osteoporosis or less severe bone loss, osteopenia. There are several different methods of measuring bone mineral density including X-rays, peripheral X-rays of the wrist or heel, CT scans, or ultrasound. Usually, results are compared to normal. The difference between your bone mineral density and the "normal" is reported in Standard Deviations, a statistical measure of how far your score deviates from the norm. Scores below the norm are negative numbers; above the norm are positive numbers. In general, one negative standard deviation represents about a 10% to 12% decrease in bone density. Osteopenia (reduced bone mass) is defined as -1 to 2.5 standard deviations below normal; osteoporosis is defined as more than -2.5 standard deviations below normal.

There are numerous risk factors for osteoporosis including a strong family history of osteoporosis, prolonged use of steroids such as cortisone or prednisone, hyperthyroidism, missed periods, early menopause, and decreased testosterone levels in men. Discuss your personal risk and prevention strategies with your doctor.

Resting Heart Rate

Resting heart rate can be a very accurate measure of fitness. A strong, fit heart pumps more efficiently and therefore, doesn't have to work as hard to circulate your blood volume. Research has shown that higher resting heart rates are associated with increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all other risks. Elite endurance athletes can have values as low as 40 beats per minute or fewer, while the average adult resting heart rate is about 72. Morning resting heart rate can be a good indicator of overtraining. If you see increases of 10% above your daily normal morning resting heart rate, add more recovery to your training schedule.

Body Fat Percentage

Together with BMI, body fat percentage provides a more complete picture. It is a measure of non-lean tissue. Underwater measurements, electrical impedance systems, and a new air displacement test are the most accurate, but skin fold calipers can give a good estimate. For running performance, a loss of one-percent excess ody fat is associated with about a one-percent improvement in running speed. Ideal body fat percentage is different for men and women, and too low can be as unhealthy as too high. When women slip into percentages that are very low, 17% or lower, menstrual periods can disappear and set the stage for osteoporosis. Ideal range for men is about 10% to 18%, for women, 18% to 25%.

VO2 Max

VO2max is a measure of your aerobic capacity or exercise tolerance--the maximum amount of oxygen your body is able to use during maximum exertion. The fitter you are, the higher your VO2max. It can be measured with sophisticated equipment that measures gas exchange, or how much air you take in against how much C02 you produce.

University sports facilities often have gas analyzers, but you can estimate your V02 max by an indirect method called the Balke Test. Warm up for 15 minutes, then using a stopwatch and a measured track, run as far as you can at as fast a pace as you can maintain for 15 minutes. If you traveled 6,000 meters, you can count yourself among the highest echelon of elite male runners, with an estimated VO2max of 80.0 milliliters per kilogram per minute. If you managed 4,000 (that's 2.5 miles at a 6:00 minute pace) your VO2max is about 56.5 mI/kg/mm. You can calculate your own VO2max based on the distance you complete at http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/endurancetests.html.

Homocysteine Level

You may want to ask for this test, as it isn't part of a routine check up. Recently, research has linked high homocysteine, an amino acid produced during protein metabolism, with cardiovascular disease, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease. The blood test for homocysteine is drawn after fasting for 12 hours, so you must plan ahead. Measure-ments are made in micromoles per liter ([micro]mol/L).

Normal values are between five and 15 [micro]mol/L. Abnormal values are classified by severity as moderate (16 to 30), intermediate (31 to 100), and severe (greater than 100 [micro]mol/L. If your homocysteine is high, your doctor will probably recommend supplementing your diet with additional folic acid and other B-vitamins. Most physicians recommend daily folic acid supplementation at 400 micrograms to prevent high homocysteine.

(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/index.htm; Natl. Osteoporosis Foundation, www.nog.org; Natl Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes; Amer. College of Sports Medicine, www.acsm.org)

       Blood Lipid                     Ideal

Total Cholesterol               less than 200 mg/dL

High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)  60 mg/dL or more

TC/HDL ratio                    4 or less

Triglycerides                   Less than 150 mg/dL

Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)   Less than 100 mg/dL


       Blood Lipid                     High

Total Cholesterol               Gerater than 240 mg/dL

High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)  High risk if less than 40 mg/dL

TC/HDL ratio                    6 or more

Triglycerides                   Borderline > 150; High > 200

Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)   Borderling < 160; High 160-190;
                                Very High > 190 mg/dL