2 BOCNEWS.com SEPTEMBER 2017 1. TAUREN WELLS - HILLS AND VALLEYS 2. LE ANDRIA JOHNSON - BIGGER THAN ME 3. ANTHONY BROWN - A LONG WAY FROM SUNDAY 4. ANITA WILSON - SUNDAY SONG 5. PATIRCK HOLLIS - B ACK AGAIN 6. BRYAN POPIN - I GOT OUT 7. BILL MOSS JR. - LIVE 8. MIAMI MASS CHOIR - LIVE 9. CHARLES BUTLER - MAKE IT 10 ARVIN DISMUKE - I'M PUSHIN "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." — I Corinthians 9:25 When you go for a doctor's appoint- ment, before you see the physi- cian, there are a number of measure- ments that are done by the nurse or medical assistant. These things may include your height, your body weight, temperature, and blood pres- sure among other things. All of these things are important to measure, but for the sake of this article, let us focus our attention for a moment on the height and weight. We may not think much about it, but our height and weight, is something we should pay careful attention to (along with all the other measurements). These measurements may be a reflection of our state of health and of our future state of health. The doc- tor pays attention to our weight as it may require comments--usually if the weight is too high or has changed significantly since our last visit. Our weight can be an indication of a serious health problem such as kid- ney disease, liver disease, or heart disease. However, it usually is more related to our lifestyle , physical activity, and the things we eat, and drink. We all come in different sizes and shapes, but believe it or not our weight can be of critical importance. We can all be classified by height and weight as being underweight (rarely), normal weight, overweight, or obese. It is a matter of fact that body weight is of significant concern to the medical community. This is because the status of being overweight or obese has come to be related to some serious diseases and conditions that can produce chronic illness, disability and premature death. Moreover, the prevalence of overweight and obe- sity is increasing worldwide! We have seen and are seeing more and more a collection of diseases and chronic illnesses linked to abnormalities of body weight. We can ignore this only to our peril. Potentially devastating, or painful conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney dis- ease, many cancers, and an array of arthritic conditions have afflicted many people worldwide. The tragedy of this is that all too often the suffer- ing we may see is preventable. A person can be classified as normal body weight, overweight, or obese by a term referred to as the Body Mass Index (or BMI) which is based on height and weight. In fact, if you go on the internet you can find something referred to as the Body Mass Index Calculator and type in your height and weight and automatically get your Body Mass Index. You will be told if your weight is normal, overweight, or obese if you dare to put the numbers in! In general if your BMI is greater than 30 you are obese, and if greater than 25 you are overweight. This is for adults as there are different numbers (mostly called percentiles), for chil- dren. We are going to focus on adults however. We should note however that concerns about body weight are also true for children. It should be noted that there is some concern about the accuracy and use of the BMI and some prefer to use another measure: The waist circum- ference. This give a quick assessment of the need for weight loss. To get the waist circumference stand and place a tape measure around your middle, just above your hip bones, making sure the tape is horizontal around the waist. Keep the tape snug around the waist, and measure just after you breathe out. Your waist circumfer- ence for a man should be less than 40 inches and for a non-pregnant woman less than 35 inches. Remember this is a screening test. We need to keep in mind that just looking in a mirror can tell us if our weight is too high. If we want to decrease our BMI and/ or waist circumference, lose weight and decrease our risk for preventable conditions as noted above, we need to change our diet to more fresh fruits and vegetables, less processed and fast foods, and just healthier choices in general. Talking with a dietician can help, or just go online to get sug- gestions. Then we need to think about something too many dread and that is exercise. Just remember being seden- tary is deadly for our health. Here are the benefits of exercise: ■ ■ Lowers risk of premature death ■ ■ Reduces occurrence of heart attack and stroke ■ ■ Helps to control high blood pres- sure ■ ■ Helps to control high cholesterol ■ ■ Helps to control diabetes ■ ■ Decreases rates of breast and colon cancer ■ ■ Promotes weight loss How to get started: Find a friend to join you. Join a gym if needed. Turn off that TV! Exercise 40 or more min- utes daily. Buy a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps daily. Do exercises such as swimming, walking (as noted), jogging, and rowing. Do weight train- ing 2-3 times weekly. Set some goals for yourself. Watch your weight. Get a personal trainer if needed. Just do not be sedentary. Pray and ask God to give you the will to succeed in reach- ing your goals! 1. MELVIN WILLIAMS - WHERE I STARTED FROM 2. JIMMY HICKS - WATER WAY 3. DEITRICK HADDON - LIVE 4. TRAVIS GREENE - CROSSOVER LIVE 5. LEANDREA JOHNSON - BIGGER THAN ME 6. BRYAN POPIN - I GOT OUT 7. MIAMI MASS - LIVE 8. ANTHONY BROWN - A LONG WAY FROM SUNDAY 9. JAMES FORTUNE - DEAR FUTURE ME 10 ANDY MINEO/WORDS PLAYED - MAGIC & BIRD Your BodyWeight, Exercise, andYour Health Dr. Conner By Byron E. Conner, M.D. HEALTH This is because the status of being overweight or obese has come to be related to some serious diseases and conditions that can produce chronic illness, disability and premature death.