Mind and Body
Numbers You Need to Know

Bob Greene Fitness expert (and Oprah's personal trainer) Bob Greene is the author of The Get With the Program Guide to Good Eating. He says there are four key numbers every person should know about their body to help prevent heart disease and diabetes.
  1. Blood sugar or glucose level: Ideally, it should be between 65 and 110.
  2. Blood pressure: 120 over 80 is very good, although experts are now pushing for even lower numbers.
  3. Cholesterol level: The total should be under 200. The "good" cholesterol (or HDL) should be over 40—the higher the better. The "bad" cholesterol (LDL) should be under 100.
  4. Weight: According to Bob, if you want to focus on lowering one of these four numbers, start here. If you reduce your weight, the other areas will follow.

Don't Waist Away
A good, quick indicator of whether you may be at risk of developing heart disease or diabetes is your waist measurement. If you're a woman and your waist measures over 34-1/2 inches, you are assuming a higher risk. Men at higher risk have a waist measurement of 40 inches or more.
Let's Get Personal
Want to know more about your health? Answer some simple questions about your age, weight, waist measurement, eating and exercise habits, and Bob will send you an e-mail assessing your risk for heart disease and diabetes.
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From the show Biggest Health Hazards and How to Prevent Them