Understanding BMI & BIA In The Body | El Paso, TX (2021)

Introduction

In today’s podcast, Dr. Alex Jimenez DC* and Dr. Mario Ruja DC* explained what is basal metabolic rate, BMI, and BIA to the body as well as how different tools can be used to measure body fat and help a person’s overall health and wellness.

 

Basal Metabolic Rate

 

[00:00:03] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: All right. It’s Mario and Alex’s time, and it is the two favorite chiropractors for El Paso.

 

[00:00:18] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Functional medicine, Alex.

 

[00:00:20] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: That’s what we’re going to do.

 

[00:00:21] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Functional Medicine 2020.

 

[00:00:25] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We’re going to be focusing on BMI, and we’re going to be focusing on everything. Mario, my awesome co-host here, we’re tearing it up. We’re going to give some points of view, and we will discuss certain things today. Today, our focus will be on anthropometric measurements and measuring the body composition, rationale, and interpretation.

 

[00:00:49] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I’m afraid of that. All right. I’m scared of measurements, Alex. I’m telling you right now, and I don’t want measurements around my body. OK? Thank you.

 

[00:01:01] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yeah, Mario, we got to get the little. We got a little knowledge here, OK? Hey, well, we’re not going to do we’re not going to try to make this boring. So if you want to see dull, I think we have plenty of examples of what boring looks like. Yeah. Have you seen those boring guys, Mario? You know, it’s like any measurement of what’s going on over here.

 

[00:01:23] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: OK, you know what, I can go to sleep with that one, Alex.

 

[00:01:37] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: That’s what I’m talking about.

 

[00:01:38] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I can go to sleep and just shut it off. But you know, learning has to be fun, and it has to be interactive, and it has to be functional. So that’s what we are going to be talking about today.

 

[00:01:50] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I agree. So what we’re going to do is we’re going to try to bring the facts as they can be, and we’re going to try to get it with a little bit of slapstick fun. So it’s going to be fun. Mario, tell me a bit of your interpretation of BMI as how people understand basal metabolic rate.

[00:02:08] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Well, this is what I understand and what I hear about basal metabolic rate. The bottom line is, can you put your belt around your pants? And can you tuck your shirt? And how about that?

 

[00:02:28] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know, you are right.

 

[00:02:28] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: That’s pretty scientific, right there.

 

[00:02:30] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: That is scientific, and we could talk pear. We could speak of apple sizes. Apple-shaped body types. And but we don’t want to get specific here because people want to know, OK, well, what’s going on?

 

[00:02:40] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Let’s get started.

 

Dr. Alex Jimenez explains what basal metabolic rate is.

 

[00:02:41] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Let’s go. One of the things that we can do is we can start discussing calculating energy requirements because one of the things that we want to see, as you can see, I put up here a little bit of fact so that it can help us out a little bit in terms of figuring out what’s the best approach in terms of what we do. Now you can tell here that sedentary, you know, exercise is what we want to talk about the basal metabolic rate. OK, this is a measurement that has occurred by height and weight index. So it comes out to that number, and we can start looking at calorie caloric intake burn. But when we do a BMR and calculate this number, we typically want to get about a one-point two. And that’s what would be expected in most situations. If you’re sedentary light activity, we start noticing an increased activity expenditure, and BMR should be a one-point three seventy-five. If you are moderately active, you should start doing that. So in its interpretation, Mario, when you see these kinds of things and these kinds of figures, what does it bring to mind for you in terms of these numbers? As we keep on going back to this will be able to see what’s going on; what’s your incentive sense of the rates and the metabolic processes?

 

[00:03:55] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Well, again, very simple. When you look at it as the more active you are, the higher your metabolic rate is. That’s it. So, we want to put it in very simplistic terms to the public at the end of the day. We want to be more active about that. So science supports that, you know, park the car as far away as possible from the Walmart entrance and your work. So by doing that every day, you are creating a higher function. OK, metabolic, that’s the burn, that’s your whole system burning fuel within yourself, so it’s simple. And the studies are showing that the more active you are, the higher your metabolic rate is. It can go up to one point nine from a one-point two. Correct.

 

[00:04:53] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Exactly. So what we’re looking at here is that the requirements are going to be pretty high. Suppose you are one of those people that are very active. So ultimately, our goal is to get you as active or what your lifestyle could, you know, require. So you know, if you’re a mechanic, you stay moderately active. If you’re someone who works in, let’s say, an office, your BMR is going to be calculable using these numbers for the body mass index. The whole idea is to try to figure out a body mass index using the BMR. So the BMR rate allows us to give the best estimate as to where your BMR should be. And then, we can use this same number, this BMR, to assess your body mass index. So our goal is to continue learning about this thing. And as we kind of go through that, we look at body measurement types. Now, in the past, what we’ve looked at in terms of this, we assess the body in many different ways. Historically, we’ve been able to do underwater weight assessments. Remember Mario; we used to have a tank, put someone in the water and have them float to measure oxygen consumption. Those were the old methods, the accurate standard way of doing our fat analysis, and it’s pretty expensive sometimes. We use a DEXA test, and the DEXA test is a similar test used for bone density. We can do that. We also have the body pod test historically. Now I know that you have noticed different types of tests, and we’re going to put them up here. What are the tests that you’ve seen other than the ones you’ve known?

 

[00:06:18] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Alex on that one? When you’re talking about the underwater weighing and DEXA and even the body pod, those are again more research-based, more scientific. Exactly in that. So when you’re looking at that, I look at it from my perspective, you know, what’s functional and what can everyone do? So precisely, skin fold is easy. You know, skinfold and the…

 

[00:06:50] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: The BIA?

 

The BIA Tools

 

[00:06:52] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: BIA and the tanita scale. Yeah, I mean that one electrical impulse is going through, and you’re looking at resistance and impedance. Those are simple. You can buy it from Walmart or anywhere and step on it. Make sure you don’t eat. And make sure you don’t drink before you do your test. So do it early morning, let’s say six seven o’clock on an empty stomach so that you can get some good readings with the scan. And also, you know, skin folds easy. And again, with the BMI, you’re looking at weight divided by twice your height, your height squared. Exactly. That’s kind of like a simplistic view in terms of BMI. Anyone can do it. So those are right now. Those are the standards. Most of the time, you go to your trainer; when you go workout in your CrossFit gym, or what I call a functional gym, people are going into more a functional aspect of fitness. So, they incorporate less wear and tear and trauma. Now they’re looking at skin fold and embody. They even have the new embody systems that are very popular, giving you an excellent ratio even of your hydration, which is nice.

 

Dr. Alex Jimenez and Dr. Mario Ruja explain the tools that measure BIA.

 

[00:08:16] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know, when you say that when we look at this thing like the Tanita, this scales as you said, you can get them at home, and the BIA is where it’s at. We’re finding that many studies reflect that the BIA shows quite a correlation with accuracy with these more complex underwater weighing and addax attest. So these standards are research-based. You’d always want to maintain some research-based, at least collaborative information that makes sense, right? So now the BIA assessment machines can determine through ohms, through an impedance, through fat analysis, through actually measuring the electrical current throughout the body, a very accurate approach to weight assessment and by, you know, basal metabolic rates. So now the studies are better and more accessible for people, and we don’t have to do some complex things.

 

[00:09:12] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Yeah. And you know, if you can show everyone the body pod, I think that’s cool. That’s like a cool thing, you know? I mean, look at that. Yeah, that’s cool.

 

[00:09:26] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: So when you look at a body pod, right, this is an incredible thing, but this is not something you would want to have in your office, right? 30 to $40000, right? Jesus, man.

 

[00:09:34] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: You know, it’s crazy, I mean, they’re probably looking at you like they should have you on an alien channel or something, but the simple one, if you can scroll up on the BIA. It’s a simple machine, and the readings are fantastic. You know, the readings are excellent. They’re portable, and you can see the resistance level and the phase angle, which is nice because then you’re looking at particular patterns and turns your metabolism.

 

[00:10:09] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Absolutely. These tests are now available in most clinics, or at least those focusing on functional fitness. We have them at fitness centers, and many fitness centers have them. And you and I are used to using these things in our offices. So as we do these things, as we assess these things, we can give the patients a quantitative point of view that helps them figure out exactly how everyone.

 

[00:10:40] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  You’re exactly right, Alex. In my work, you know, working with athletes and what I call performance professions. You see, we’re talking about military S.F. Special Forces, Rangers, things like that. It’s all about performance. So in that, we use calipers. You know, those are very useful, easy to use and the ones that I particularly like. Again, with BMI. There are a lot of discrepancies, Alex, and you know, this being, you know, in the world of bodybuilding and athletics, and all of our kids are athletes, I mean, they’re that’s just part of the family structure. So we got to know you’ve got to run, jump, catch a ball, kick a ball, or do something right. So the point is that I have found out that the BMI is not very accurate, not very accurate at all, Alex, when it comes down to athletes, right? So this is where the discrepancy comes in, where it gets crazy because now you go to a regular assessment, a regular assessment, or I don’t want to say, regular doctor. Still, you know your doctor, and then he’ll test your BMI and you, you’re going to be off, you’re going to be high, and you’re going to say, you know, you need to get get your BMI lower. Yeah, the point is that the BMI is the mass. So again, muscle is heavier than fat. So, In your environment of bodybuilding, what do you think about that? I mean, because I’m sure it was crazy.

 

Dr. Alex Jimenez explains BMR.

 

[00:12:27] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Well, one of the things that I have been able to see over the years is that when you have someone as we understand this, that the BMR is the thing that we’re using to assess that we’re using height and we’re using weight. But those numbers get skewed when you have an athlete, and they don’t work well for the muscular individual. I mean my son, for example, he was one hundred ninety-five pounds, five foot eight. In all reality, he’s clinically obese. Yet he’s shredded and ripped in, and he was a national champion in wrestling and had no body fat. So the caliper method, the BMR, the BMI based on height and weight has deficiencies, and that’s where the BIA came in and the body impedance assessment. That’s where these studies became very popular. And as we see, Mario, in essence, when we look at these situations, we find out that there are great assessment tools out there. These tools are the ones that are going to give us the ability to kind of come up with an accurate for an extensive range of individuals, whether they’re bodybuilders, whether they’re women. There’s a standard between, you know, a good 13 percent body fat and 29 percent body fat for females. Women typically have a more significant number of between 18 and 29 percent body fat. At times, that’s a range that is kind of in there, so hopefully, they can stick around 22 to 24 boys in the 13 range just because the body density is different in a female right. So what we look at is what the norm is? We can try to calibrate people for their numbers to make sense for that individual and work them towards it because a true athlete will be able almost to blow the BMR BMI into the wrong number skew. And if we can get it to a nice number, we will have to use many different tools. Now we’re going to present our ideas and fundamental philosophies, and knowledge points that we use to determine actual proper health. So we’re going to discuss those particular issues, and we’re going to go over those specific areas now. The BIA is the body impedance, OK, so when we look at the bioimpedance areas, we can see that these tests are affordable, but they determine the electrical current. And because of the body amount of muscle fat and the fat that occurs, we’re using the fat as kind of like the thing that allows us to assess body dynamics as well as body density, right? So as there are more impedance or more ohms or more resistance in the body, the greater the body fat, these tests must be done correctly. Many times before you do a BIA, you’ve got to not, you know, take, first of all, you got to be dry, OK? Because if you’re sweating, it throws it off, right? If you’re eating too much or too many fluids. So typically, you try to keep away from eating foods, drinking too many fluids, and you try to get this thing to work. So resistance, as we look at it, is the thing that we’re trying to measure. So one of the things is that when you look at these graphs, you see low resistance associated with large amounts of body fat mass, which is where the body is stored, right? So when we look at this, this is one of the areas we can kind of put together when we look at the resistance numbers now as we look at different angles. Let’s say we got the phase angles. We also look at the ability. This is the new number assessing the intracellular and extracellular activity and the permeability of the cells. OK, now as we range this, they’re looking at ranges between zero and 20 percent. But the higher the phase angle, the higher the number where it pops, the better it is for the individual, the lower it is. It’s not as good. So what we want to do is see where your phase angle is, and we want to assess it as it gets calculated. So one of the things that we look at, we assess this and the tools that we use, such as the BIA assessment, such as the embodied testing systems, we can determine the ranges for the individuals. But here’s where, where, where things make sense. But in general, when you look at this, Mario, what is your take from when we assess this particular type of fundamental research technology we can apply to athletes? Your daughters are athletes, right? And do you what you have used in the past for this?

 

[00:17:10] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Usually, one day when they go into programs, I mean, they’re super fit, first of all. So they’re looking more at anywhere between like performance in terms of speed, agility, and sustainability. Right? Like, you know, vertical in terms of explosiveness, those types of things in and the area of recovery and energy. This is where I can tell you that even the girls and boys focused on energy consistency. OK. And I can see, even with this, which is critical. The phase angle again, the lower the phase angle, shows the cell’s inability to store the energy. So that’s why that storage of energy, Alex, is critical because that is where we get the maximum output. Everyone is talking about performance, and performance is about what output. So if that cell, if that cell cannot store the energy, it cannot release the energy and perform. So these are excellent markers; I would say that with the latest technology, we need to use them, and we need to have benchmarks where it’s not just generalities. Often, we talk about generalities; how do you do when I’m doing good? You know, I had a good workout. What does it mean to have a good workout, and what does it mean to have a great workout? The difference is to show me proof. Show me results. It’s all about results. So the better, I guess, a good takeaway. A good assessment for people looks at. Number one, go to a professional and get your BMR and BMI done. That’s number one. And use the equipment. And the specifics so you can mark and assess them afterward. If you don’t have a straight baseline, a pre, you will not have a post. And this is the same thing in performance. If you don’t have your electronic time to track your pre, then your post is meaningless. You don’t know where you’re going. So for a lot of the performance, you know, to me, life is performance. You’re going to have to perform either at work or home, or you’re going to perform an on on the field, whatever that may be on a mat, on a field. When you’re sports, it’s about keeping track of markers, your pre and post that way, and you know where you’re going, and you know your performance in our world. We love scores. Just imagine going to a game, and you never have a score. We don’t keep score. We just want to have fun. It’s not fun anymore, right? So, for the things that we’re covering today in terms of the instruments, the methods of measuring body composition from professional decks and water displacement and body parts to skin fold, you know, everyday use that you can buy it at your local Wal-Mart anywhere and do the caliper test. That’s an excellent baseline. And with a lot of the trainers, make sure that when you are training with someone, make sure that they do a baseline, so you know, you know, and they know where you’re at and the performance and the programming. It’s essential to understand programming. There has to be scaling. There has to be a periodicity in that development. And I know when Little Alex was training for state, you know, there has to be a periodicity in wrestling. You can’t just go hard and go home like everybody says, no, you have to have your point of performance, and you’ve got to have your track, your flow to that. When Mia is training for nationals or international competition in tennis, there has to be a plan where she is developing to peak at that time. Is that correct? 

 

[00:22:14] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yes.

 

Dr. Mario Ruja explains how waist measurement is reliable.

 

[00:22:16] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: That’s so critical. And you cannot create that plan to peak at that specific if you’re in the dark in terms of knowing where you’re at. And I think for our listeners and our viewers, and it’s very easy to get. I mean, sometimes people get lost like, oh, you know, BMI. I would venture to say 80 percent of the people listening today who are watching this video have no clue what BMI means. They heard about it, but they have no clue what it is. Yeah, they think it’s some scientific, something alive. No, it’s not. We want to bring it down to earth, down into your living room, where you can do a BMI for your kids. Do it for your husband, your wife. Make sure you know where you’re at. Again, with a BMI and this, you know, refresh my memory. The target is 19 to 20. 19 and 20. Anything beyond that is obesity. If you’re talking about 25 BMI, you’re in the obesity range. If you’re talking about 30, you are morbidly obese, and the word morbidly obese means death that should get everyone’s attention. Oh yes. Yes, it does. Kind of like waking you up. So what we’re looking at is no one understands where you are, then measurements, and also understands that these measurements fit the person’s profile. So if you’re a bodybuilder, if you are very heavy, muscle-bound, OK, then you already know you need to go into impedance. Not measurements. But what I have found out. A very reliable measurement is the measurement for your waist, and that’s where Alex, I want to kind of share this with our listeners and viewers. Just a simple waist measurement is so powerful because some people say it’s better than BMI.

 

[00:24:29] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It sure is. Absolutely.

 

[00:24:30] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  It’s very much that waist measurement gets down and makes it so simple because that abdominal mass that abdominal fat is the one that’s going to kill you. That’s the one that has the highest risk. Is that correct?

 

[00:24:47] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: That’s correct. And if your belly is wide if it sticks over your of your belt. We got issues, OK? So we noticed that if there’s a certain distance between the chest and the waist, those are better measurements in general. Yeah. So as those numbers are calculated, you don’t need a high-level test to do this. So I like that. So it’s a critical component to look at. But as we advance and we’re dealing with high-performance athletes, people want to know, and you can take a sport like, let’s say, just wrestling, for example, you got these individuals at their best.

 

[00:25:28] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Or soccer. Soccer is huge.

 

[00:25:29] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yeah. We’re dealing with assessing a tight BMI in a tight body mass index. You got to have body fat; you’ve got to have body fat to be able to sustain loads of an exercise routine. You’re going to see that you got some guys with excellent body fat density during the season. And let’s say their weight class is 198, for example, and the guy’s about 215 pounds. Well, if he drops from 215 to 198 overnight, he’s going to be exorbitantly exhausted. And this is something that we’re going to see now. If he slowly works towards the goal towards the arena of 198 over two weeks or better off, let’s assume he gets there to the exact bodyweight 188, and it’s three days before the competition. It’s going to be exhausting, and he’s going to be tired. However, if he can get there two weeks earlier and adapt his body, as his body starts getting better, it will respond better during the loads he needs.

 

Sports

 

[00:26:34] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: This is what we are talking about, that it needs to be sports specific. Are you following me, Alex? So that same conversation can not be held with a soccer player, a football player, a tennis player, or anything in that what I call extended aerobic exertion of over 10 15 minutes. And this is what’s happening. And I loved it when you said that example with wrestlers. I would say the same goes towards MMA fighters, which is what I take care of. MMA fighters in Pheonix and in different areas that you’re talking about, also boxers. Again, they have to make weight. Though the world of making weight is a beast, that is a world where you have to be on, or you’re going to die. You either go into that fight feeling like a beast, or you’re praying that it ends quickly. And so, yeah, yeah, it is. You got to put him in the first 10 seconds. Yes. So this is where it’s so crucial that you were in a world of analytics and metrics, the training, the measurements, the analytics and metrics, Alex. We’re not in the world of Oh, he looks good. No, we’re past that. We’re way past that.

 

[00:28:15] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We’re in the world of making sure that when we compare the athlete, we can measure their changes and every stage down the road as they compete, as they become more and more in tune to that moment of competition, their body changes, their bodies adapt, their bodies become more refined, and as the season gets better or further along in the season towards the competitions, towards the season, towards the heavy loads. Yeah, that’s when we can kind of see how the body’s changing. So these tests can help us determine how the body reacts. And once these competitors have years of competing and during those years, they have off-season and on-seasons, and we need to be able to measure those things easily. That’s what these tests do in terms of tennis. For example, when you’ve done these things, what have you noticed in terms of, let’s say, just the athlete of tennis or even the boxers that you deal with? What have you seen in terms of the specific progression through the season?

 

[00:29:20] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  It’s critical. And Alex, I can tell you this that it’s not just performance. The other conversation that I think needs to be dialed in is recovery, Alex. OK. And the other one that fits together with recovery is his phase angle.

 

[00:29:41] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yeah.

 

Dr. Mario Ruja discusses how sports are critical for young athletes.

 

[00:29:41] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Yes and decreasing injuries. Exactly. That’s where it gets crazy because you cannot have this sustainable pattern without recovery. And without that, that specificity and knowing when to push it, want to max out as they say, and when to shut it down or go half speed. And these are conversations that are critical for young athletes, Alex. I see a lot of them, you know, and nowadays they’re starting earlier. They’re starting at six and seven years old, six and seven. Let me tell you, your body hasn’t even woken up to the conversation of sports yet. And they are practicing three times a week, having games every weekend, or some of them practice three times a week with one team and then go with another team and practice the other two days so that they can be at their best peak.

 

[00:30:50] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Six or seven, Mario? So crazy. What sports are you are dealing with that kids are doing six or seven?

 

[00:30:56] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Right now, I have patients doing basketball and track simultaneously. Yeah, and they’re in middle school, and that’s amazing. 

 

[00:31:09] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: This is crazy.

 

[00:31:09] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Yeah, so this is my question, our question. We’re here to help the community. We’re here to help the parents because their vision is that my little kids will be a superstar, right? He’s going to sign a D1 contract. UT Austin, Texas Tech. Guns up, baby. Yeah, guns up. Or U of A? Yeah, U of A Wildcats.

 

[00:31:37] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No.

 

[00:31:38] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: You know, Wildcats, and I’m thinking, you’re not going to make it past high school. I mean, you’re not going to make it past Mountwood or pass Franklin. I mean, you will hit the wall so hard with repetitive traumas, OK? And so those are the components that to me as a health care provider, as a functional sports medicine cognitive Coach. I mean, I need to teach people this; forget taking care of injuries. I want to teach you so you don’t get injured. It’s critical. And then they go into middle school and high school, and there’s no season off. 

 

[00:32:27] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: So, in your opinion, what have you seen these tests do to help the parent or the athlete or the individual or the coach, for that matter? Understand as a form of betterment for them, what do we get out of these tests regarding the athlete?

 

Dr. Alex Jimenez and Dr. Mario Ruja explains how the body needs recovery after sports competition.

 

[00:32:50] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Very simple. There’s a time to turn it on and a time to turn it off. OK, so you reach your goal? Rest. OK. You’ve done the tournament, recover, get the recovery, get the mind and body to recover, Alex. A lot of times, we don’t even think about the mind. Yeah, the mind gets beat up in the war; in the battlefield of performance, the mind gets beat up. It affects your sleep pattern. It affects your focus. Emotions, anger management, all of those things. So what I would say is we’re here to share knowledge, tools, and health. But most of all, for performance.

 

[00:33:44] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yes.

 

[00:33:45] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  So that way, each child and each person, let’s say you’re not in middle school and high school. Let’s say you’re in your 20s and 30s, and 40s. Well, you’re performing for life. And so let’s invite everyone to learn more to look up BMI, BMR, all of these and incorporate them into their plan of workouts and challenge them and ask them, When was the last time you got measured? How about that?

 

[00:34:16] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We have to teach people that these tests are not, you know, at any point, just one test? You have to follow through these tests for a lifetime to see what’s going on. If you have a center where you can go, and the BIA tests are so simple now that we and the correlation between the highest level of research show that we’re very tight, less than one percent variation from clinical research methods. So we know that the BIAs work in terms of extremity inflammation in terms of joint swelling and the metabolic processes for the mass density in each extremity. So if you have one muscle that is larger on one side due to an injury from the other extremity, we’ll be able to see the changes. So the studies are evident now. We use phase angles to determine health. We use fat analysis. We use the changes and the progression during a very athletic era or a very athletic season is very important to be able to determine so that today we’re starting the children a lot younger. We’re starting them at four or five, six years old as the child has to be around four years old. As long as they can focus and long as he can pay attention, we started active. So it is wise to begin understanding the metabolism methods that we use to calculate body mass index through their ages so that we have a measurement of what’s normal for that particular child. Because what we have to see is what’s suitable for that individual. Specific gravity is another method to determine if you’re cutting down too much. But that’s another topic. This particular issue is, mainly, on the body mass index. We want to bring that to the towns and El Paso, particularly because we have those research capacities here. Specifically, the one that we have liked is the body mass index. So in-body is one of the most top use. They use it at UTEP and the leading research centers, and it’s pretty much a standard now. And yeah, and since we use it, it offers us an ability to assess an individual quickly. I’ve been at UTEP, I’ve seen the types they use, and it’s very accurate. And since we’ve seen the research that it follows, now we know that this stuff is very accurate. And specifically, now you can assess your own and have it online and determine it through methods where you can keep up with your child to see what’s going on. Any other ideas or comments that you have, Mario, in terms of bringing this logic or this kind of approach to understanding basal metabolic indexes to the public?

 

Understanding BMI

 

[00:37:14] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  I would say, Alex. Number one, let’s make it very simple. You know, let’s make it very simple. So with that, this is as simple as getting on a scale to see how much you weigh. That’s it. So let’s bring that conversation to everyone, so everyone gets a scan. Minimal, minimal. I would say seasonally. Every season you should get a scan. You should get a BMI. You should log it in just like your weight. You know, let’s be functional. Let’s think of ourselves as necessary as our cars. Right? So I look at it as you have a little tag up on your windshield that says oil change. So why don’t we do this? And I challenge everyone to listen. And you know, we’re here because we need to take care of our community. You know, our community is probably one of the highest rates of diabetes in the nation. OK, and all of that story starts tomorrow. Yeah. I’m sorry.

 

[00:38:26] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I don’t want to say it, but you have to. There’s a big old elephant in the room. But El Paso, our town, was considered the fattest sweaty town in the whole United States at one point that sickened me when I heard it. It was a different town. We are much more advanced. There were very few gyms. Now we’re all about fitness. So if we’re going to be the leaders out there, and man, I got to tell you, we got some beautiful athletes coming out of El Paso now. Absolutely. We got one of the tops. We can put our athletes against the best, even the best top schools, so as we compete in those areas, we want to use the tools that all the other places use to assess our athletes, our children, and our high-performance individuals. So we must do that kind of stuff now because we have the technology, and no longer is El Paso going to be the fattest sweatiest town in the United States. That’s that’s unforgivable. You agree with that.

 

[00:39:27] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Yeah. So bring in that, and the division that I would like to share is that the measurement, the simplicity of just getting your weight and your height, is now complemented with a BMI that you understand you have some goals. It’s 2020. Yeah, it’s 2020, baby. You know what 2020 means that let’s do better than last year. Let’s be healthier than last year and let us integrate and have a better understanding and better objective plan for our health. And with this, I would say this test and the Body Measurement Index is a word and understanding that needs to be spread throughout families. So, the family can talk about that like, Hey, what are we doing? How are we doing? And then with that, use it accordingly. OK? Therefore, to create positive outcomes, whether it’s just to play with your child. If you have children, that’s your sport. Your sport is not to sit and watch. Your sport is to participate. Throw the ball, kick the ball rolling with your child, or if your child is really into sports, give them the tools and the best tools. They’re not that expensive. They’re available so that they can get training that is on point and has extraordinary results.

 

[00:41:08] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Exactly. I couldn’t have said it better myself. We have the technology. It’s here, and this is not the six million Dollar mankind of the world, or this is not outside our realm. We can give it to our kids. We can show them, parents, become educators. They are the ones that seek out the coaches. They are the ones that are the nutritionist for the children. They are the ones that are the psychologists that every aspect of developing a child requires a lot of different aspects. So those parents with athletes, athletes who want to learn more about their bodies, the world of heavy tech research methods are over now. It’s simple. You get on scale accurate methods, and you can monitor your body a few times a year, two, three, four times a year, depending on your type of sport and your level of performance. These are the things we can do, and we need to provide that information so that you have tools to gauge you can’t get in a car without looking at a speedometer. We don’t know how fast you’re going. You don’t know if you’ve gone too far. You don’t know if you’re having protein metabolic catabolism, which is a breakdown or if you’re anabolic. So these are the tools that help us figure things out. You don’t know if certain joints or certain extremities are swollen because of just water or if it’s just protein breakdown. These tools we can see inside the body and monitor the improvement or changes, so the world changed. So now, El Paso, we can change the way we understand our physiology, the patient’s physiology, and our client’s physiology. So I welcome this technology, and by no means is it limited to anything that we do, and many providers in the town can do this. Many hospitals have it, but for a facility, it’s within our practices as well. So we use those things. So I look forward to being able to share this with the patients as well as the town.

 

Conclusion

[00:43:19] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Absolutely. I second the motion on that, Alex, and the challenge and passion that we’re going to have this year in 2020 are not only to motivate and be cheerleaders for functional health.

 

[00:43:36] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: And fitness.

 

[00:43:37] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  And fitness, but also to educate and empower the community with the latest technology and knowledge so they can do their best.

 

[00:43:47] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Amen, brother. This is awesome, and I look forward to being able to continue. We’re going to be coming at you often because we’re motivated. We’re parents, and we want to be able to touch our El Paso and make it a better place because, you know, without getting too crazy, we’re pretty badass, as they say, right? Yeah, we were pretty, pretty intense in our town, right Mario?

 

[00:44:12] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:  Don’t get me started. They’re going to happen, and they’re going to have to shut me down.

 

[00:44:18] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No, we won’t do that. Come back later, guys. We’ll go ahead and see the show. And it’s been a blessing. So from all of us here, we can see how you guys are doing so. Blessings to you guys. Thank you, guys. Bye-bye.

 

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