Your Health Matters – The Kairwell Health & Wellness Education Library

What Are ACE Inhibitors? ACE, or Angiotensin Converting Enzyme, Inhibitors are a class of medications that your healthcare provider may prescribe to help control high blood pressure or hypertension. High blood pressure is diagnosed by either 1. Systolic blood pressure (the top number of the blood pressure reading) consistently 140 mmHg or higher, or 2. Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number of the blood pressure reading) consistently 90 mmHg or higher.

What is IBW? Ideal body weight (IBW) is the suggested weight range for your height, gender, and age. This weight range should be associated with the lowest risk of you developing and dying from a disease related to overweightness and obesity.

What is body fat percentage? Body fat percentage is the portion of your body that is composed of fat, or that portion that is not lean body mass. The purpose of body fat, also known as adipose tissue, is to serve as a storage form of energy for the body and protection for vital organs.

How much water should you drink each day? Daily recommended fluid intake (DRFI) is the amount of fluid needed each day to provide for your body’s needs. Believe it or not, the human body is composed of over 60% water making this essential fluid the body’s principle chemical component. Water performs such functions as flushing out toxins, transporting nutrients, and moistening airway

What is lean body mass? Lean body mass (LBM) is a calculation of the amount of weight you carry on your body that is not fat. It is the combined weight of your muscles, bones, connective tissues, and organs. Typically 60 to 90% of your total body weight is lean body mass, meaning a total of 10 to 40% of total body mass is fat. Lean body mass does include some fat, about 3% in men and 13% in women, which is found around the brain, spinal cord, bone marrow, and organs. This fat is known as essential fat and is higher in women due to sexual characteristics related to child bearing.

Basal metabolic rate is the number of calories that you need each day to stay alive. In other words it is a calculation of the number of calories required to keep the body functioning at rest. Depending on your activity level you will need additional calories daily to maintain bodily functions. BMR affects the rate that calories are burned and whether you maintain, lose, or gain weight.

What is BMI? BMI or Body Mass Index is a screening measure of body fat and obesity in adults 20 years and older. As BMI increases risks for certain diseases increase along with it. These diseases include heart disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep disorders, and arthritis.

You most likely have heard health and wellness buzzwords being tossed around by friends and colleagues such as BMI, body mass index, basal metabolic rate, or body fat percentage. You may not really understand what they mean or how they can help you live a healthier and happier life.

The two most common preventable causes of death in the United States are probably two of the hardest health conditions to treat – tobacco abuse and obesity. These two conditions are very complex and multifactorial with psychological and physical components. The saying goes that bad habits are hard to break...