Microsoft Health Screening Results

So there’s this yearly health screening thing that Microsoft holds where they take some blood and some skin samples and some tears. I was just kidding about the tears and skin samples. Anyway, they measure your blood pressure, your cholesterol and all the other mumbo jumbo. My numbers have always been pretty nice, just that my body fat % and BMI (body mass index) is a bit high.

Last years result were:
Blood Pressure: 114 / 79 (desirable: 120 and below / 80 and below)
Total Cholesterol: 162 (desirable: less than 200)
HDL Cholesterol: 54 (desirable: 40+)
LDL Cholesterol: 97 (desirable: Less than 100)
Triglycerides: 54 (desirable: Less than 150)
Glucose: 94 (desirable 60 – 110)
Body Fat %: 24.4% (desirable: 8% – 19%)
BMI: 26.6 (desirable: 18.5 – 24.9)

I was recommended to do cardiovascular exercise 5-6 days/week for 30 minutes to lower my Body Fat % and BMI. That was one of the reason I got the exercise bike.

This years results are pretty much the same. I did lose about 10lbs along the way, but that didn’t really help lower my Body Fat % or BMI much.

This years result are:
Blood Pressure: 120 / 80 (desirable: 120 and below / 80 and below)
Total Cholesterol: 134 (desirable: less than 200)
HDL Cholesterol: 50 (desirable: 40+)
LDL Cholesterol: 72 (desirable: Less than 100)
Triglycerides: 60 (desirable: Less than 150)
Glucose: 86 (desirable 60 – 110)
Body Fat %: 24.3% (desirable: 8% – 19%)
BMI: 25.5 (desirable: 18.5 – 24.9)

At first I was shocked when I saw how close to the borderline my blood pressure was, but then I look at last year results and there were only up a tiny bit. I also attribute any errors to the fact that the lady taking my blood pressure made me laugh while the numbers were dropping.

My total cholesterol took a big drop, lowering both good and bad cholesterol. Not too sure if that’s a good thing, but I’m still within the desirables. So that’s good, right?

I have no idea about the triglycerides or glucose as those numbers moved around a bit, but not much.

Both my BMI and Body Fat % dropped, but by so tiny of an amount. Haha. I’m debating if it’s worth it to continue exercising. ;p Interestingly enough, last year I told them I was 5′ 6″ and this year I told them I was 5′ 5″. I noticed if I punch in 5′ 6″ and 153lbs into the BMI calculator, that puts me at 24.7, just within the desirable. I think I’m really 5′ 5″ (tried measuring myself yesterday with a tape measure), but I’ve given both numbers out as my official height (license shows 5′ 6″). If you want to find out your BMI, you can use the BMI Calculator at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. BMI’s in my opinion are never that accurate as they use your height to estimate your volume. Xyon says the most accurate way to measure BMI is to have to strip naked and step into a pool of water and see who much the water level rises.

All in all, I’m happy with my results and the numbers say I’m pretty healthy. Rob (our project’s Lead PM) walked out as I was going in and asked how much damage I was expecting. You see, I bring in snacks and food every week, ranging from candy to cookies, from dried mangos to beef jerky. People drop by my office to get food every now and then and I don’t exactly bring in the healthiest food. Rob drops by every now and then for a slim jim or cookie. He said the damage my snacks caused wasn’t too bad. Derek on the other hand… he’s afraid to come to my office now.