Know Your Numbers
Regular health screening enables you to identify risks early. This can help with the better self-management of chronic pain and conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Eating a healthy diet, being physically activity, not smoking and using alcohol responsibly can assist in the better self-management of your health. Speak to your healthcare provider for all the options available to address your needs.
*** Complete the WoW! Wellness Monitor quarterly and capture your results on the WoW! Wellness Passport to keep track of your numbers (see forms at the bottom of this page). ***
Understand your Body Mass Index (BMI)
The Body Mass Index is a measurement that compares your height to your weight and gives you an idea of whether your weight is putting your health at risk. Eating a healthy diet, being physically active and using alcohol responsibly can assist in the better self-management of your BMI for health benefits.
Calculate your own BMI by following the few easy steps:
- Measure your weight (in kilograms) on a bathroom scale. E.g. 60 kg
- Measure how tall you are (in meters) with a measuring tape. E.g. 1.67 m
- Now take your height (in meters) and multiply it by itself. E.g. 1.67x1.67 = 2.79.
- Divide your weight by the answer you calculated in C. E.g. 60 kg/2.79 = 21.5.
- Compare your BMI (e.g. 21.5) with the table below to see what weight category you fall into.
| Below 19 | 20-24.9 | 25.0-29.9 | 30.0 and above |
| Underweight | Normal weight | Your weight is putting your health at risk (Overweight). | Your weight is putting your health at high risk (Obese). |
Understand your Waist Size
Carrying extra body fat, especially around the stomach area, can put you at risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, back and knee pain and gout. Eating a healthy diet, being physically active and using alcohol responsibly can assist in the better self-management of your waist size for health benefits.
How to measure your waist:
- Stand upright with your feet together.
- Use an inelastic tape measure and place it around your waist at the level of your belly button/navel. Make sure that your abdomen is relaxed (don’t hold your breath while measuring) and that the tape is neither too loose nor too tight.
- Hold your finger where the tape overlaps. This is your waist circumference.
- Compare your waist circumference with the table below:
| Level of risk | Waist circumference (cm) | |
| Women | Men | |
| Low | Below 80 | Below 94 |
| Moderate | 80-88 | 94-102 |
| High | Above 88 | Above 102 |
Understand your Blood Pressure reading
Blood pressure is measured using a blood pressure cuff and is typically recorded as two numbers for example 122 over 82.
| 122 | Systolic: Indicates the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. |
| 82 | Diastolic: Indicates the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats. |
A guide to blood pressure levels:
| Normal blood pressure | below 120/80 to 129/84 |
| High normal blood pressure | 130/85 to 139/89 |
| Mild hypertension | 140/90 to 159/99 |
| Moderate hypertension | 160/100 to 179/109 |
| Severe hypertension | Above 180/110 |
High blood pressure (hypertension) increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure and eye damage. Eating a healthy diet, being physically active and using alcohol responsibly can assist in the better self-management of high blood pressure for health benefits.
Understand your Blood Glucose reading
Blood glucose is measured by a finger prick or drawing blood. The reading should be between 4 and 7.8 mlmol/L.
High blood glucose can limit blood flow and increase blood pressure. This can put you at increased risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, eye damage, foot problems and impotence.
Eating a healthy diet, being physically active and using alcohol responsibly can assist in the better self-management of blood glucose for health benefits.
Understand you Cholesterol reading
Cholesterol is measured through a finger prick or drawing blood. The reading should be less than 5.2 mlmol/L.
High cholesterol can narrow/harden the arteries, which limit blood flow and increase your risk of stroke and heart attacks.
Eating a healthy diet, being physically active and using alcohol responsibly, can assist in the better self-management of high cholesterol for health benefits.
Complete the WoW! Wellness Monitor and capture your results on the WoW! Wellness Passport to keep track of your numbers.
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WoW! Wellness Passport
Wheel of Wellness
Wellness is not merely the absence of disease but instead the ability to maximise personal potential in all spheres of life. Wellness is commonly viewed as having seven dimensions. Each dimension contributes to our own sense of wellness or quality of life and each affects and overlaps the others. The Wellness Wheel can be a helpful tool for you to assess areas where you feel competent and a strong sense of well-being and identify areas for change.
Download the Wheel of Wellness below. Using a scale from 1-10, where 1 is the lowest feeling of well-being, and 10 represents the highest feeling of well-being, rate your sense of well-being on each dimension. Draw a line to connect your scores in each dimension. The ideal is to work towards achieving a full circle which means a score of 10 in each dimension.
TEST2PREVENT - Know Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
There is a tendency for diabetes to run in families because they usually eat the same food and live a similar lifestyle. Your lifestyle choices influence your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. You can prevent or lower your risk by living a healthy lifestyle (regular physical activity, healthy eating, healthy weight management, etc.).
Complete the TEST2PREVENT test below. It is a quick and easy way to find out your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
(Adapted from Diabetes resources of the Finnish Diabetes Association & Tygerberg Hospital, Western Cape Government Department of Health).