Keeping track of key areas of your health helps you spot potential concerns earlier, and empowers you to seek help and make changes that can give your overall wellness a boost. We’ve identified three areas that you can easily monitor at home – and why you should start doing so!

Monitor your BMI

Maintaining a healthy weight is an important way to protect yourself from a variety of health concerns associated with being overweight, such as:

• High blood pressure
• Coronary heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Stroke
• Gallbladder disease
• Osteoarthritis
• Sleep apnea
• Certain cancers such as breast, colon and endometrial cancer
• Mental health issues, including depression

Whether you fall into a healthy weight range is determined using the Body Mass Index (BMI). Your BMI is calculated using your height and weight. It is an estimate of body fat and can gauge your risk of developing the conditions mentioned above. A normal BMI score is between 18.5 and 24.9. Anything lower than 18.5 means you may be underweight, while a score over 24.9 means you could be overweight or obese. Being underweight is also associated with health risks, including osteoporosis, undernutrition, and eating disorders.

Your BMI is a good indicator of whether you’re over or underweight, however it does have some limitations. If you have a very muscular build, your BMI may overestimate how much body fat you have, while for older people who may have lost muscle mass, it can underestimate body fat.

You can measure BMI using a weighing scale and inputting the numbers into an online BMI calculator. If you’re working to reduce your BMI, weighing yourself once a week first thing in the morning and tracking the results can help you see if you’re headed in the right direction. To help you get started, why not browse the range of weighing scales on our website.

If you’re concerned about your BMI, consult your doctor, who will be able to carry out a more complete assessment of your health.

Keep an eye on your blood pressure

Blood pressure is another area of your health that it’s important to monitor, since if your blood pressure is too high, you could be at higher risk of stroke and heart disease.

It’s common to get your blood pressure checked when you visit the doctor’s office, but did you know you can also measure it at home? This allows you to get a more complete picture of your blood pressure over time. It can also counteract a phenomenon known as the “white coat effect”, where a person gets anxious at the doctor’s and therefore has a higher blood pressure reading than normal.

Your blood pressure reading is made up of two numbers. The first number (systolic) shows the pressure when your heart contracts, and the second number (diastolic) is the pressure when your heart relaxes between beats. See below to find out what counts as low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk blood pressure.

• Low risk: 120/80
• Medium risk: 121-134 / 80-84
• High risk: 135+ /85+

If you’d like to keep a check on your blood pressure, we offer a range of blood pressure monitoring devices on our website.

Stay up to date on your heart rate

Tachycardia is when your heart rate is higher than 100 beats per minute. It isn’t always a concern, as your heart rate can temporarily rise when you’re exercising or stressed. However, it can be caused by irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias), which, if left untreated, can lead to serious health problems, including heart failure, stroke, or sudden cardiac death.

If you experience any of the following symptoms of tachycardia, you should seek medical help immediately:

• A racing, pounding heartbeat or flopping sensation in the chest (palpitations)
• Chest pain
• Fainting
• Feeling lightheaded
• Rapid pulse rate
• Shortness of breath

If you feel like your heart rate is too high, you should make an appointment to see your doctor to find out the underlying cause. Many blood pressure monitors, as well as smartwatches and fitness trackers also measure your heart rate, allowing you to keep an eye on any changes and track them at home. Wellwise by Shoppers™ offers a range of these devices on our website.

Tips on improving your BMI, blood pressure, and heart rate

If you’re underweight or overweight, have high blood pressure, or a high heart rate, the first thing to do is visit your doctor. They’ll be able to explore any underlying causes or conditions and discuss a treatment plan with you. They may recommend certain lifestyle changes which can help with all three conditions. These include eating a diet rich in whole grains, lean meat, low-fat dairy, and fruits and vegetables, as well as limiting intake of salt, sugar, alcohol, saturated fat, and trans fats. Exercising regularly is also key, try to aim for at least 30 minutes most days. If you’re out of the habit of being physically active, a seated elliptical could be a great place to start. Seated ellipticals work like regular elliptical machines where you exercise by pushing pedals with your legs, except you’re in a sitting position rather than standing. This means you can work out while you sit and do other activities like reading and watching TV. If you’re interested in trying one out, you can browse the range of seated ellipticals on our website.

We hope these simple tips and devices empower you to take your health into your own hands and start you on the road to wellness.

The information presented in this blog post is designed for educational purposes only. You should not rely on any information in this post as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or as a substitute for professional counseling care. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional.

Resources

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/risk.htm#:~:text=BMI%20is%20an%20estimate%20of,breathing%20problems%2C%20and%20certain%20cancers.

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/healthy-weights/canadian-guidelines-body-weight-classification-adults/questions-answers-public.html

https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/?utm_source=canada-ca-foodguide-en&utm_medium=vurl&utm_campaign=foodguide-2021

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services ="w-link"href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/healthy-living/your-health/lifestyles/obesity.html">https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/healthy-living/your-health/lifestyles/obesity.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tachycardia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355127#:~:text=Tachycardia%20may%20not%20cause%20any,stroke%20or%20sudden%20cardiac%20death.

https://www.heartandstroke.ca/heart-disease/risk-and-prevention/condition-risk-factors/high-blood-pressure