As Realtors and Brokers, we are all learning to be more earth-friendly and ecologically-sensitive to assure that we live on a healthy planet. We are learning about "green" building nd remodeling. Perhaps it's also time for us to take af ew moments to consider the health of our own bodies.
As self-employed professionals serving the public, we spend a good deal of time sitting in our autos, at open houses and in our offices. We eat on the run and may also get less exercise than we ought to. We deal with the stress of having an income stream that does not come in as consistently as the incomes in other professions.
A good way to judge the health of our own bodies is something we can do in the privacy of our own home or office. It is the simple act of calculating our "Body Mass Index" or BMI. BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems in the future. BMI is equally applicable to both adult males and females.
While BMI is not a definitive diagnostic tool, it does give a quick and simple indication of whether you may be carrying around too much weight. A person may have a high BMI without it necessarily being an indication of a helath risk. But, if your BMI exceeds the guidelines, it may be time to check with your healthcare provider to see if you are at risk.
To calculate you BMI, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared. Then, multiply that result by 703.
Let's take an example of a man weighing 186 pounts who is 5' 8" tall (68 inches). 186 pounds divided by his height sqaure (68 times 68 or 4,624) equals 0.040225. Multiplying 0.040225 times 703 gives a value of 28.3 as hs BMI.
A normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. A BMI between 25.0 and 29.9 is considered overweight and a BMI between 30.0 and 39.9 is considered obese. A BMI above 40 is considered morbidly obese.
So, our Realtor example above, with a BMI of 28.3 falls into the "overweight" category and might want to check with his healthcare provider to see if he should consider either a modest change in his diet or an increase in the level of his physical activity.
Realtors work very hard and are subject to all the stresses that come with being self-employed in an industry where income does not come in a steady stream. Guarding our health, I believe, is something worth a few moments of our time.
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