In previous posts, we discussed the results of the County Health Rankings, particularly the fact that Schuylkill County ranks 60 out of 67 in the state of Pennsylvania. In part one I covered a few measurements you can do at home to determine your risk for various lifestyle related diseases. These measurements are just a few of the many ways people and doctors assess health status.

So, what if you were outside of the normal “healthy” range according to the formulas and charts? It means that as your number move further away from the normal range, your risk of lifestyle related diseases increases. Make no mistake about it, you should NOT take these measurements lightly. It’s interesting because every day I meet someone in our health food store that is concerned because they received blood test results and were shown to have high cholesterol levels. Or, maybe they had some other test done ordered by their doctor that is abnormal. These people are usually very concerned and want to do something to make the test “normal” again. That’s great, but consider the “tests” I gave you to do at home. These are probably just as important as any expensive testing that you may have done, and you should be just as concerned.

Basically what I’m trying to say is, just because height and weight charts are free and you can take these measurements at home, it doesn’t make their results any less important. Your doctors should be every bit as concerned about those results too.

If your measurements are outside of the health range, I strongly urge you to do something. For right now, just do this; make a promise to yourself that you will do something, anything, to change that number for the better. Lifestyle change can be an enormous challenge. Don’t worry about that right now. Start at step one, identifying the need to change, and deciding that you want change. The rest will fall into place. Once you know you need to change and you know you want to change, there is plenty of resources available to help you do that.

In part three I will give a few simple tips to help get you started on the path to better health. These will be things you can do without much money, great insurance coverage, or anything that’s not available to you at your finger tips right this second. Stay tuned.

(Dr. Touchinsky is a chiropractor in Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County . In addition to treating people for neck pain and back pain, he focuses on helping people overcome a variety of health issues through healthy lifestyle and nutritional counseling. If you have an issue you’d like help with or would like a second opinion, call the office at 570-366-2613 to set up an appointment.)