Get Your Vitality Score from LifeScape [here]!
Below are the different health factors we evaluate to determine your vitality score. Each factor plays a unique role and can act as a looking glass into your true health. You may know - or be able to calculate - some of these items yourself, but we encourage you to work with a provider to determine next best steps.
A healthy BMI is a good indicator that your body weight is in proportion to your height. A high BMI may indicate obesity, which increases your risk for a multitude of health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many more. We recommend maintaining a BMI between 20-25. You can calculate your BMI here.
By measuring the ratio of your waist circumference to your hip circumference, we can determine how much fat is stored on your waist, hips, and buttocks. People who carry more weight around their midsection (an apple-shaped body) are at higher risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and premature death than those who carry more of their weight in their hips and thighs (a pear-shaped body). For more information and a walk-through on how to calculate your Waist/Hip Ratio click here.
Fasting blood glucose is a measure of how your body is managing your blood sugar. A higher fasting glucose score may indicate health problems such as diabetes. Fasting glucose can be measured at home or in-office with a finger-prick blood sample. Fasting means after not having anything to eat or drink (except water) for at least 8 hours before the sample is taken. This test is usually done first thing in the morning, before breakfast.
A1C also measures your body's blood sugar, but over a longer period of time. It evaluates your average blood glucose over the last three months or so, whereas the fasting glucose level only records blood sugar at one point in time. Again, a higher score indicates pre-diabetes or diabetes.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, can lead to all sorts of health problems including stroke, heart disease, eye problems, and kidney failure. It can be difficult to realize that if you suffer from hypertension, as there are no noticeable symptoms. As such, it is important to check your blood pressure often, especially as we age. Normal blood pressure is 120/80.
You may have heard that there is a "good cholesterol" and a "bad cholesterol" and it's true! This test measures the total amount of cholesterol in your blood and how much is "good" HDL or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The "bad" cholesterol, LDL or low-density lipoprotein, is what causes damage to your heart and arteries. HDL will actually absorb the bad cholesterol out of your bloodstream, so a lower total cholesterol/HDL ratio means you have more good cholesterol and better heart health.
This test measures the level of c-reactive protein (CRP) in your blood. CRP is made by the liver in response to inflammation in your body. Higher CRP levels may indicate an infectious, autoimmune or inflammatory disease.
All of these tests and more are available at LifeScape! If you haven't already, we invite you to complete your vitality evaluation here to determine your score and discuss your results with a LifeScape practitioner.