What is metabolic health?

Being metabolically healthy means having none of the physiological abnormalities that can lead to chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurological diseases.

Read: Glucotoxicity: a crucial issue for metabolic health (subscribers)

A large part of these anomalies can be identified with a tape measure (or a scale), a watch, a blood pressure monitor and a simple blood test:

The tape measure tells you if your waistline is optimal.
The scale can give you your body mass index (a not always reliable indicator of body size).
The watch tells you about your resting pulse.
The blood pressure monitor lets you know if your blood pressure is neither excessive nor too low.
Blood test informs you about the blood sugar level (fasting blood sugar, or glycated hemoglobin HbA1c), the levels of triglycerides and cholesterol, the presence or absence of inflammation.

Other parameters like heart rate variability (measured by an electrocardiogram), the maximum expiratory volume per second (measured by a spirometer), etc. can be added to assess a person’s metabolic health.

Metabolic health: some optimal values ​​in adults

• Waist measurement: Man < 102 cm / Woman < 88 cm
• BMI (weight in kg/height in m x height in m2): 18.5 to 24.9 (values ​​for 18-65 year olds, except endurance athletes, bodybuilders, pregnant or breastfeeding women)
• Resting pulse: 50-70 beats/min
• Systolic blood pressure: 90-120 mmHg
• Diastolic blood pressure: 60-80 mmHg
• Fasting blood sugar: < 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L)
• Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c): 5.7 to 6.4% (reflects average blood sugar level over the past two to three months)
• Fasting insulin: 2-6 IU/mL
• Triglycerides: < 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)
• CRP (C-reactive protein, accounts for inflammatory phenomena): 0.8 – 3.0 mg/L

Read also: Dr. Èvelyne Bourdua-Roy and Dr. Jason Fung, pioneers of metabolic health (subscribers)