Are You at Risk?

These three tests may indicate your future risk for disease.
BAYOUHEALTH BY SHANNON DAHLUM 

When you think about ways to measure your health and risk for disease, cholesterol and blood pressure likely come to mind. We know that these measurements are correlated with health outcomes, but many studies have also shown that physical strength and mobility are also very strong indicators of future disease risk. Here are three measures of long term health you can test and work on yourself. 

GRIP STRENGTH 

Grip strength is a simple but powerful predictor of future disability, morbidity, and mortality in all age groups. A population study conducted in 17 countries reported that grip strength can predict all-cause mortality, specifically cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, even more than systolic blood pressure.  A 2018 study found that grip strength was an accurate predictor of cognitive function in both people in the general population and those diagnosed with schizophrenia. More recently, increased grip strength has been associated with greater Covid outcomes, as well.

You can improve your grip strength with grip trainers, tennis ball squeezes, farmer carries with dumbbells or kettlebells, hanging from a pull-up bar, etc. However, it’s not the strength of your hands that directly impacts your ability to fight off disease, but grip strength is one of the strongest predictors of overall muscle strength and endurance. Strong hands generally indicate a strong body, and a greater muscle mass is what’s protective when it comes to long term health. Rather than sitting on the couch squeezing tennis balls, regularly lift heavy things. When you work on improving your overall strength, your grip will improve, too, and so will your long term health. 

SIT-TO-RISE TEST  

A 2012 study of 2,002 participants, aged 51-80, correlated long term health outcomes with a sit-to-rise test. Participants were challenged to start in the standing position and lower themselves to a seated criss-cross position on the floor without bracing themselves with their hands, knees, arms or sides of the legs. They then had to rise back to the standing position, again without the aid of other body parts. Those who could both lower and rise without assistance scored a perfect 10. Every time another body part was used for support, one point was lost. After performing the test, participants were followed for approximately six years. During that time, 159 of the participants had passed away, and it was found that those who scored 0-3 on the test had a risk of death that was five times higher than those who scored an 8 or above. 

The sit-to-rise test is a measure of relative strength, mobility and coordination.  When you spend most of your time seated in chairs, wearing supportive shoes that limit movement and muscle engagement in your feet, you may lose the full range of motion in your hips and ankles. Along with mobility, your strength and balance may be lost, as well. To improve your sit-to-rise score, prioritize consistently moving your body. Walk, stretch, bend, twist, and incorporate bodyweight squats and lunges. Spend less time sitting in chairs. Get up and down from the floor using whatever assistance you need and work toward gradually using less assistance.

WAIST TO HIP RATIO 

No one likes carrying around excess body fat (the fat loss industry in this country rakes in billions of dollars every year) but carrying excess fat around your midsection can be even more damaging to your health than it is to your ego. If you have healthy insulin levels, body fat will be distributed fairly evenly throughout your body. If you’re insulin resistant, however, which leads to higher insulin levels, much of this fat will accumulate around your internal organs and you’ll see it as an increasing waist line. This is called visceral fat, and it greatly increases your risk for cardiovascular disease and every other modern metabolic disorder. 

Here’s how to do get your measurement: measure the circumference of your waist at the midpoint between the bottom of your ribcage and the top of your hip bone. Then measure your hips, around the widest part of your rear end. Now divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement; this is your waist-to-hip ratio. Compare your result with the chart below to see where you fall on the disease risk spectrum.

Keep in mind that these numbers have been determined based on current populations. “Average” doesn’t necessarily indicate that all is well. Studies of pre-Westernized populations have indicated that most people had a ratio that fell in the “excellent” category. As these cultures shifted to modern eating habits, the majority grew larger around their waists, and the average number shifted up. What is now considered “excellent” used to be the norm, and what is now the “average” is clinically understood to indicate a higher risk of insulin resistance, and therefore, an increased risk of all modern metabolic diseases. 

To decrease your waist-to-hip ratio, managing insulin and stress are key.  Prioritizing healthy sleep habits, minimizing your consumption of processed carbohydrates, and incorporating strength training to increase insulin sensitivity are a few good places to start. 

There is no easy button when it comes to maintaining health and increasing longevity. If you want to see some improvements on any of the tests above, the solution is the same: move your body regularly to encourage strength, mobility and coordination, and eat plenty of foods as they’re found in nature, while avoiding an excess of processed carbohydrates.