COLUMBUS, OH (Ohio State Wexner Medical Center) - One of the first things you do at a doctor's appointment is step on the scale. But while maintaining a healthy weight is important, it doesn't tell the whole story. Barb Consiglio has more on the B.A.S.I.C.S. you and your doctor should focus on and how a little maintenance and attention in these areas can make a big difference in your health.
After losing both parents to colon cancer, Joyce Miller does everything she can to stay on top of her health.
"I didn't want to go through that myself and be a role model for my kids to be proactive also," said Joyce Miller, patient.
While things like genetics and lifestyle play major roles, body mass index — a calculation of weight versus height — has long been the primary measure for general health. But Doctor Barbara Bawer, a family medicine physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center says there's much more to evaluating overall health than numbers on the scale.
Instead, Doctor Bawer recommends sticking to the B.A.S.I.C.S. — brain, activity, stomach, immunity, checkups, and sleep.
Brain games and active learning can help maintain cognitive health. As you age, experts recommend taking the "Sage test" once a year, a cognitive exam that can be taken on paper or online and discussed with your doctor.
"It can help a physician to begin to assess your cognitive status if you don't do as well on it to know whether we need to dive deeper or do additional testing," said Dr. Barbara Bawer, Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
"A" is for activity — everyone should strive for a hundred fifty minutes per week— followed by "Stomach,"— pay attention to any pain or change in bowel habits.
"Think of your gut as having good bacteria and think of them as your worker bees. When you are not feeding them the appropriate things, then they are sluggish and they're not going to work very well," explained Dr. Bawer.
For immunity, it's important to eat a balanced diet and get recommended vaccinations. "C" is for checkups, the time to discuss your health with your doctor. And finally, sleep — something Doctor Bawer says affects all the B.A.S.I.C.S.
"Sleep is highly undervalued as a medical need," said Bawer.
As for Joyce, she rests a little easier knowing she's covering the basics.
"Mostly you just get to be, I think, happier," added Miller.
March 7, 2024 Press Release from the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center: COLUMBUS, Ohio – For decades, the number on a scale has been a key factor in deciding whether a person is healthy or not. But weight alone doesn’t paint a complete picture of one’s health.
People have used body mass index (BMI) to measure body fat based on height and weight since the 19th century. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), BMI is not an ideal way to do this because it doesn’t account for differences in age, gender, race/ethnic group, body shape, genetics and percentage of muscle and body fat.
“It’s not a perfect measure because it’s only an assessment of your mass for your height, and there are other factors including genetics that play into your overall health,” said Barbara Bawer, MD, family medicine physician and clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “A person can have a normal BMI but not be healthy and a person can have a higher BMI and actually be generally healthy otherwise.”
Instead, Bawer recommends taking a thorough look at health by focusing on the B.A.S.I.C.S. Following the checklist can help prevent illness and highlight health issues early.
Brain: How strong is your cognitive health? Do you have trouble remembering appointments or important dates? Do you frequently misplace things? Has your SAGE test score, a self-administered test that can spot early signs of dementia, changed in the past year?
Activity: How active are you? Do you complete 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week? Do you experience any pain when exercising? Do you sit for more than eight hours per day?
Stomach: How healthy is your digestive system? Do you have indigestion, stomach pain or bloating? Are your bowel movements regular? Is there blood in your stool? Have you experienced unexplained weight gain or loss?
Immunity: Do you get sick often or get frequent infections? Does it take you longer than others to recover from illness? Have you had recommended vaccinations?
Checkups: Have you completed an annual checkup with your primary care physician? Do you have any health concerns? Are you up to date on all recommended screenings?
Sleep: Do you get seven to nine hours of sleep each night? Are you tired during the day? Do you often need a nap to get through the day?
Bawer suggests completing the B.A.S.I.C.S. checklist monthly to identify any changes in health. Make an appointment with your doctor to discuss any red flags.
“If you let small issues go or think, ‘Oh, it's just nothing,’ they tend to foster into bigger issues over time,” Bawer said. “Whereas, if you bring it up to your primary care doctor, we can hopefully catch it early, potentially prevent complications from happening and treat it right away.”
