{"id":12872,"date":"2019-07-17T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/"},"modified":"2022-11-04T06:46:28","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T10:46:28","slug":"searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching For Better Ways To Measure Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How should a company determine the health of their employees? Traditional thinking would suggest looking at weight or Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. Despite their popularity, these assessments do not always paint an accurate picture of individual or organizational health.<\/p>\n<p><!--space--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inaccuracies-of-bmi-and-other-measurements\">Inaccuracies of BMI and Other Measurements<\/h2>\n<p>Many medical professionals use BMI to calculate whether a person is in the underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese range based on height and weight. BMI is a quick way to get a snapshot of health; however, this calculation doesn\u2019t account for muscle mass or bone density, which can significantly impact weight.<\/p>\n<p>Two people could have the same height and weight, but based on their body composition, one might more accurately be categorized as normal weight and the other as overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), BMI is incorrect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/2015-09-02-cdc-study-bmi-is-incorrect-indicator-for-18-of-the-u-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">18%<\/a> of the time! Case in point: according to his BMI, actor Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson is obese. Johnson, a former professional bodybuilder, is muscular and has little body fat, but the BMI calculation only considers his height and weight.<\/p>\n<p><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-3ea2ff9e-abb7-4685-99ee-dc38e1641367\"><span id=\"hs-cta-3ea2ff9e-abb7-4685-99ee-dc38e1641367\"><!-- [if lte IE 8]>\n\n\n<div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div>\n\n\n<![endif]--><a href=\"https:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/226537\/3ea2ff9e-abb7-4685-99ee-dc38e1641367\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"hs-cta-img-3ea2ff9e-abb7-4685-99ee-dc38e1641367\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/226537\/3ea2ff9e-abb7-4685-99ee-dc38e1641367.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"New Call-to-action\" \/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(226537, '3ea2ff9e-abb7-4685-99ee-dc38e1641367', {\"useNewLoader\":\"true\",\"region\":\"na1\"}); <\/script><\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->Other measurements can be used, but they also can have drawbacks. Body fat is a useful indicator, but that measurement is difficult for people to calculate or monitor on their own. Blood pressure is another measurement, but it does not provide the entire picture. For example, a person could be obese but still have normal blood pressure.<\/p>\n<p><!--space--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"additional-ways-to-measure-health\">Additional Ways To Measure Health<\/h2>\n<p>Fortunately, traditional measures of health are not the only options employers have to sue. Researchers suggest considering other indications of current and future health, including the ones below.<\/p>\n<p><!--space--><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"walking-gait\">Walking Gait<\/h4>\n<p>In older adults, walking speed was associated with an increased chance of longevity. Scientists looked at <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/644554\" rel=\" noopener\">nine studies<\/a> of nearly 35,000 older adults 65 and older and found that those who could walk more than 1 meter per second were more likely to be independent and less likely to have an adverse event. In contrast, older adults who walked less than .6 meters per second were at a higher risk of an adverse event. Because walking involves both cognitive and physical abilities, researchers believed that the ability to walk faster was an indication of health.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/gait%20and%20health.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"gait and health\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><!--space--><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"crossed-leg-sit-down-stand-up-test\">Crossed Leg Sit Down\/Stand Up Test<\/h4>\n<p>More than <a href=\"https:\/\/geriatrictoolkit.missouri.edu\/srff\/deBrito-Floor-Rise-Mortality-2012..pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2,000 adults<\/a> aged 51 to 80 were asked to sit down on the floor and then stand up without using their hands for support to test musculoskeletal fitness. When the study followed up about six years later, researchers found participants who struggled with the test had a higher mortality rate. Researchers said body composition, muscle strength, power, and flexibility were key indicators to long-term health.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Screen%20Shot%202019-07-17%20at%209.15.02%20AM.png?w=468&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Crossed Leg Sit Down\/Stand Up Test And Survival Rate\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><!--space--><\/p>\n<h4 id=\"push-ups\">Push-ups<\/h4>\n<p>Beyond the measurement of upper body strength, pushups can indicate the risk of a cardiac event. A <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2724778?utm_campaign=articlePDF&amp;utm_medium=articlePDFlink&amp;utm_source=articlePDF&amp;utm_content=jamanetworkopen.2018.8341\" rel=\" noopener\">study<\/a> of 1,100 active adult men found those who could perform more than 40 pushups had a significantly reduced chance of a cardiovascular disease event within ten years, compared to men who could perform fewer than ten pushups.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pushups%20and%20health.png?w=468&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"pushups and health\"  \/><\/p>\n<p><!--space--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"implications-for-employers\">Implications For Employers<\/h2>\n<p>Wellness programs may provide different assessments to help keep track their health. However, it is vital to make sure the tests that are used provide accurate information. Assessments like BMIs can be expensive and incorrect, creating more confusion for employees. Companies should consider additional options. Measuring walking gait or the number of pushups can give employees information on their abilities through a simple process and provides a concrete path for improving their results. Also, unlike BMI, walking speed and number of push-ups create non-weight goals and targets that employees can work toward to improve health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How should a company determine the health of their employees? Traditional thinking would suggest looking at weight or BMI, but despite their popularity, these assessments do not always paint an accurate picture of individual or organizational health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holistic-workplace-wellness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.6 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Searching For Better Ways To Measure Health | Wellable<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How should a company determine the health of their employees? Traditional thinking would suggest looking at weight or BMI, but despite their popularity, these assessments do not always paint an accurate picture of individual or organizational health.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Searching For Better Ways To Measure Health | Wellable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How should a company determine the health of their employees? Traditional thinking would suggest looking at weight or BMI, but despite their popularity, these assessments do not always paint an accurate picture of individual or organizational health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wellable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GetWellable\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-17T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-04T10:46:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/19%200717%20Measure%20Of%20Health.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"651\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"501\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Wellable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@getwellable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@getwellable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Wellable\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Searching For Better Ways To Measure Health | Wellable","description":"How should a company determine the health of their employees? Traditional thinking would suggest looking at weight or BMI, but despite their popularity, these assessments do not always paint an accurate picture of individual or organizational health.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Searching For Better Ways To Measure Health | Wellable","og_description":"How should a company determine the health of their employees? Traditional thinking would suggest looking at weight or BMI, but despite their popularity, these assessments do not always paint an accurate picture of individual or organizational health.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/","og_site_name":"Wellable","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GetWellable\/","article_published_time":"2019-07-17T14:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-04T10:46:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":651,"height":501,"url":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/19 0717 Measure Of Health.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Wellable","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@getwellable","twitter_site":"@getwellable","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Wellable","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/"},"author":{"name":"Wellable","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f7c042b5403e555f4cd545a365023e71"},"headline":"Searching For Better Ways To Measure Health","datePublished":"2019-07-17T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-04T10:46:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/"},"wordCount":602,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/19%200717%20Measure%20Of%20Health.png?fit=651%2C501&ssl=1","articleSection":["Holistic Workplace Wellness"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/","name":"Searching For Better Ways To Measure Health | Wellable","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/19%200717%20Measure%20Of%20Health.png?fit=651%2C501&ssl=1","datePublished":"2019-07-17T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-04T10:46:28+00:00","description":"How should a company determine the health of their employees? Traditional thinking would suggest looking at weight or BMI, but despite their popularity, these assessments do not always paint an accurate picture of individual or organizational health.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/19%200717%20Measure%20Of%20Health.png?fit=651%2C501&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/19%200717%20Measure%20Of%20Health.png?fit=651%2C501&ssl=1","width":651,"height":501,"caption":"Health"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/searching-for-better-ways-to-measure-health\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Searching For Better Ways To Measure Health"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/","name":"Wellable","description":"Latest Research &amp; News in Wellness","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#organization","name":"Wellable","url":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/favicon-wellable.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/favicon-wellable.webp","width":155,"height":157,"caption":"Wellable"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GetWellable\/","https:\/\/x.com\/getwellable","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/wellable-inc-\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCtTLlvZR-tKRBcb32l-rFXg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f7c042b5403e555f4cd545a365023e71","name":"Wellable","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acf8de6b4e70889e608d47410dcdc1ac0fea5050a1d89c468bea5ae977f4eda7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acf8de6b4e70889e608d47410dcdc1ac0fea5050a1d89c468bea5ae977f4eda7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acf8de6b4e70889e608d47410dcdc1ac0fea5050a1d89c468bea5ae977f4eda7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Wellable"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/34.168.145.72"],"url":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/author\/wellable-admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/19%200717%20Measure%20Of%20Health.png?fit=651%2C501&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellable.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}