Comparing yourself to “the norm”
Comparing yourself to “the norm”
The other day I visited the doctor for a checkup. When the nurse took me in, he measured my blood pressure, weighed me and measured me – you know the usual – but then he said my blood pressure was REALLY low.
He had a concerned look on his face so I asked him…”Ummm, and is that bad?” He told me my BP was 109/61 mm and that the average is closer to 120/80 mmHG. Being the inquisitive person that I am, I kept asking him…”Well, what does that mean? Is it an indication of something?” Tell me, tell me, tell me! Basically.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later when we sat down in the doctor’s office that he started asking questions about my lifestyle. He asked “So…are you involved in any sort of physical exercise?”
I laughed in my head. Am I? AM I!??? It’s only my job, passion, and everyday obsession!!!!! I told him I workout 6-7 times a week. He then said “OOOOHHHHH! That makes sense. Then your blood pressure is fine. Most athletes have a blood pressure below 100.”
#1. That made me feel pretty cool because now I know I am getting truly FIT!
But #2. Why did he proceed to tell me that my blood pressure was too low not knowing my eating habits or lifestyle tendencies?
I actually was concerned that something may be wrong with me for a second. I really think this “comparing yourself to the norm or the average or the standard” is so overrated. It’s a good gauge of a situation if you don’t have much info, but seriously, there are soooooo many factors that need to come into play before you can make a judgement call. I thought I was unhealthy! When in truth, I was just ABNORMALLY HEALTHY…compared to “the norm.”
The norm. What is that anyway. Just an average of a mathematical calculation. Every person functions differently! A low pressure in the nurse’s eyes may actually be a high blood pressure for a person that works out all the time. (I’m not saying it is, just an example.) You see what I mean? You gotta compare yourself with yourself and the individual progress you make. The norm is just a guide that should be acknowledged but not followed like the bible!
Remember, you are your own best doctor. No one knows your body and it’s needs the way you do.
Have you ever been told your too thin or too fat or too this or too that compared to “the average person?” Does it bother you or do you think norms are super helpful?
54 thoughts on “Comparing yourself to “the norm””
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I just went to the doctor today… my blood pressure is 100/40 and my doc seemed fine with it. I am a rock climber and climbing 1000 vertical feet in a day apparently causes low blood pressure- who knew!!
My blood pressure is usually at an average of 80/50, which sounds reeeaaaallly low but it was ok for me because I’m super active. When I had an iron deficiency though, the two combined to make me dizzy and light headed a lot, especially on standing. Otherwise low blood pressure is totally ok in an athlete, and in my case I’m just naturally like that!
I was reading some of your blog entries and I came across this one randomly. I’m a nurse and I also work as a health screener&coach (I do BP, ht/wt/waist line measurements, and a cholesterol screen and blood sugar check). When I have clients come in for the health screen, we tell them “Low Risk” values for BP are systolic (top number) below 120 and diastolic (bottom) below 80. “High Risk” values are 140 (top) over 90 (bottom) and above. Your top number (109) is very normal and your bottom number (61) is pretty low, but you are extremely active so that is probably perfectly normal for you. Not to stereotype you, but Asian people, especially women, tend to have lower blood pressure as it is. If you started feeling dizzy or had issues with syncope (fainting) then your low blood pressure would be a concern.
I have always been naturally thin. I’m 5’10” and weigh 125 pounds (and this is the heaviest I have ever been). I used to get teased about being so thin and people made horrible accusations about me because of it. I have never been and never will be anorexic or bulimic. It actually really bothers me that people would even bring that up. Those are serious diseases and to accuse someone of having them is really severe.
Anywhoo, I went to the doctor last week and my blood pressure was 92/58. I have always had super low blood pressure and a high resting heart rate. My heart rate was 98 bpm at the doctor. I asked her if I was okay and the nurse said, “Oh yeah you’re perfectly normal.” I know I’m healthy and I don’t need anyone to tell me that. I eat well, exercise regularly and I love my body even though it’s not “perfect”.
I am a very petite person with BMI of 18.2 (slight underweight) and am always getting comments that I need to gain weight. Just the other day a co-worker literally shoved a cookie in my face. Rude.
109/61 is not REALLY low. If your blood pressure was really low, you wouldn’t be upright (i.e. you would faint).
A major contributing factor to blood pressure is your blood sugar levels. Maintaining healthy to lower blood sugar levels makes your blood pressure slightly lower than the “average” (not NORMAL) 120/80.
I have a naturally low blood pressure that ranges around what yours was, and if I don’t eat for a long period of time my pressure drops dramatically and I am liable to faint. This happened after my wisdom teeth were taken out and I was freaked out they would get infected if I did anything but a salt water rinse.
Also, blood pressure measurements tend to be higher when taken in a doctors office due to stress or anxiety (even if you don’t feel it!) So, in reality, your blood pressure may be even lower than that on an average day.
Blood pressure is not a tell-all indicator of good health. You know your body, what you’re eating, and how you’re feeling. You are the best indicator of your own health! Trust your instincts.
I always have extremely low blood pressure when I’m pregnant. But I, unlike you, have zero energy with that kind of blood pressure. Or maybe it’s just the pregnancy doing that…? Anyway, I have fairly low “normal” blood pressure anyway, then combine it with pregnancy and I have REALLY low blood pressure and NO energy!
I think if you want to compare yourself to the norm, you have to compare yourself to the *right* norm. Like it doesn’t make sense for me and you to compare heart rates because you are WAY more active. But it would make sense for you to compare yourself (in terms of heart rate, blood pressure, etc) to other athletes/fitness minded people. Yeah?
I think you’re absolutely right :-).
when i was growing up as a teenager and in my earlier 20’s i used to be extremely thin but toned. I was on the volleyball team, softball team, i ran a high number of miles on the weekends as well as taking a physical education classes. with this in mind, i remember when going to the doctors for check ups they would ask me if i was eating or refusing to eat or vomiting. my doctor actually thought i was an anorexic and wasn’t eating and was not convinced of my responses that i worked out a lot and drove my mom nuts for eating everything in the house… he didn’t believe me so much so that he would, whenever i came in for a check up, repeatedly pull my mother aside and ask her if i was eating at all. of course my mother would respond with, “are you crazy!??!! I have to go to the grocery store practically every day because she eats everything in sight!! she’s so busy with all her sports and constantly moving that she’s eating just as much!” so just because i was considered “underweight” of what people my age were at the time my doc automatically assumed that i was anorexic or bulimic without any consideration to my actual life. it was really frustrating at the time and i actually thought that because of the doctors concern that there was something wrong with me because i was so skinny. so i know what you mean Cassey! Ive gone through something similar.
Cassey, even if norms are not perfect, they are the best we currently have. Do you have a better idea? I mean, how would YOU examine a new patient? Like:
– Is it unusual for you that you are pale, bleeding, nauseous and disoriented? Because you gotta compare yourself with yourself… Every person functions differently!
🙂
While I was pregnant I was told I was gaining to much weight. However the Dr. didn’t look at my past records to see that I started my pregnancy underweight, so in reality I was right on. Needless to say I got in the car and cried. I gained 40 pounds and in 5 months, 40 pounds. I would like to go back and tell that Dr. what I think of him! 🙂
**LOST 40 pounds!
When I was 14 and a competitive rower training 18+ hours a week, I was told by my doctor that I needed to lose weight before she even asked anything about my physical activity. I left that doctor when I was told by my mother, another health-care professional, that for my percentage of muscle and activity level, I was almost in the underweight level. That needs to be the first thing doctors ask before they judge any aspects of our health!
I am currently studying for my Step one national medical licensing examination so hopefully I pass and will be a a very good physician. =) But it’s very interesting to listen to patient stories on visits to their doctors. I know what kind of doctor I would like to be and the kind of doctor that I definitely don’t want to be. It is so important to ask life style questions. But on the flip side, 90% of patients who are visiting their doctor do not engage in regular physical activity which is very sad. But even the normal is different in every person and in every disease state. I think that the most important thing that any one person can do to gauge their own health as compared to the norm is to do their own research and be proactive about their health. While the role of a doctor is partly to educate there is simply not enough of us to go around. Read up on things that you are concerned about, as the internet has an unlimited amount of patient information. For example, if you are worried about a high (or low) blood pressure, maybe you could look up the variables that affect this. No one, not even the most through physicians can determine causes of deviating outside of “normal” in health related issues except for YOU!
I remember once I got my body fat percentage measured with calipers, and they said that I was in the overweight range! I had to laugh because I eat healthily and I exercise. I later learned that body fat percentage calipers can have a 5-7% error range.
I was told at 15 that’s I was too skinny then I was asked if I was anorexic or bulimic. At the time, I was only 7 pounds lighter than a previous visit and still within the range of. “normal”girl my age and height. I felt hurt that they thought I had a disease when I was just physically fit! Then, the doctor thought the stretch marks on my inner thighs were from cutting (as did my parents)! I felt humiliated when they stared at them when I was already embarrassed because I thought they were so ugly! My thighs and butt just grew faster than my skin could handle!
My granddad always had very low blood pressure and a resting heart rate between 35 and 40 bpm. He rarely exercised other than going for a walk but he always healed extremely quickly and lived to be 98.
At one point he was in hospital because he needed stitches after a fall and the heart rate monitor actually flat lined while he was sitting up, awake and chatting quite happily to the nurse. She apparently was terrified but he was fine.
Whenever I get my pulse taken the nurse asks if I feel faint or like I might pass out because my resting heart rate is so low (it was 48 bpm last time). Then when I tell them I’m a runner their concern goes away.
I know several athletes who have been accused of being unhealthy because their BMI is high. BMI is a bad measure of health because it is only looking at weight in pounds, and not where that weight is coming from! (muscle vs. fat). These athletes have a low percentage of body fat and high percentage of lean muscle mass, but their BMI is off the chart. I’ve also been accused that vegetarianism is unhealthy.
You’re right, BMI is pretty much the most useless and inaccurate measure of health there is. Only when SEVERAL other factors are taken into consideration should you even bother to look at BMI.
Being told you’re overweight because of your BMI can be damaging to young girls (and boys) that don’t know any better.
From what I’ve learned volunteering in an ER, unfortunately the doctor’s initial reaction makes a lot of sense. Doctors see TONS of overweight, unhealthy people every day and it is really easy to “expect” a patient to be categorized into the norm of unhealthy lifestyles. Also, in my bio class, my professor told us last week that the new “norm” for BP is 115/75. So that’s even better for you!
But that aside, doctors having a “norm” for expecting patients to be in shows how important it is for people like you to encourage healthy living! Keep it up!
Its natural to have lower blood pressures than normal, as your heart becomes stronger as you train more often. In my boyfriend’s faculty of physical health and education, we know a guy who’s resting blood pressure is about 64!! Now THAT’S FIT! haha
Seriously i don’t get what the problem is? it’s necessary we get compared to the norms, because they say if everything is OK. If most of population has, for example, about the same blood pressure and is healthy it means that someone with higher or lower BP MAY not be. That’s how doctors work. They look at your bill of health compare it with statistical one and if something is abnormal then they try to find out why you’re below or above norm, and if it’s still healthy. Cassey it’s not like you’re doctor immediately, no questions asked, prescribed you something or told you, you’re sick.
Norms are helpful, don’t full your self guys that you have muscle weight, if doctors tell you, you’re overweight then it’s probably true. Having so much muscle, that you would appear overweight because of it, would be visible.
I was always overweight in middle school/high school and it wasn’t until after high school that I started to change my lifestyle. I started working out, eating better, etc. Throughout the past 5 years I have learned more about health and healthy eating, and gotten more strict about it. I also have pushed myself harder and harder in my workouts. Because of this, I am officially 40 lbs. lighter than I was 5 years ago.
The most criticism I hear is from my family. I grew up pudgy just like the rest of my family..and now that I took it into my own hands and changed my lifestyle, my family seems to feel intimidated by it. It has gotten worse through the past 5 years as I have gotten smaller and more toned. I am 5’6” and a healthy 127 lbs and I eat 6 times a day. I don’t starve myself by ANY means..yet my Mom tells me I am wasting away and look anorexic. I think it’s mostly because the rest of my family is bigger, and it’s not the “norm” of our family to be skinny. Either way, it’s getting harder for me to defend myself because my mom doesn’t seem to care.
At the end of the day, I know I am healthy and all of things I do in my life are healthy life choices and I am proud that I was able to defy the “norm” of my family and get healthy. 🙂
I too have low blood pressure, which for a lot of people is not a good thing. I was told that if I ever had to have blood drawn they’d have to do it with me laying down otherwise I”d pass out. For others, it can signify something more serious.
When my nurse told me I had low blood pressure, I was more relieved that I didn’t have high blood pressure. When my Dr. brought it up she asked if I was an “athlete” as they often have lower blood pressure. I told her I ran and so I guess that’s normal.
For me, having low blood pressure means I’m tired and feel fatigued. Like today, I don’t feel that great and I’m betting if I checked my BP it’d be pretty low. A week ago at the DR. it was 90/60 or something like that. I think that was the lowest it’s ever been….
In high school I search our school nurse for constant head ache (probably stress related) and she told me that I was anorectic without asking me any question. I was 5’3” and weight 110 lbs and ate all the time (even in the middle of the night) because of my high metabolism. I was so angry because she never asked me about my lifestyle or my eating habits! I know it must be really hard to be overweight, but I wish people could understand that it’s not fun at all to always be told that you are anorectic when you struggling to keep your weight up!
I have been working out for about 6 months 6 days a week and I have lost a lot of weight and gained lean muscle and every single time my family gets together they say “you need to eat” or “you look to thin” and the worst on is “you look sick”. They think I am on a diet but I am just eating healthy and they don’t understand it hurts my feelings when they say those things.
As a teenager when I was weighed at the doctors the nurse would always tell my mom not to worry because my 140+ pounds was perfectly normal. (I’m 5’3 now and I’m pretty sure I was just 5′ then.) In retrospect I think she was looking at my overweight mom and rationalizing it as genetic (and maybe also assuming it was more “normal” to be overweight for an african american). Thanks to that nurse it was years before I realized I’d been lied to and even longer before I knew how to address the issue correctly.
I’ve had similar experiences with doctor’s and blood pressure! Not because I’m abnormally healthy (if only… haha) but low blood pressure actually just runs in the family. 😀
I’m surprised that doctor was so concened about your blood pressure. The standard question is to ask if you are an athlete, because some athletes can have blood pressure as low as 76/54! My docs never question mine which is usually below 100/64, and I’m not very athletic.
I’m 25 and have been underweight my entire life until one year ago when I went on a medication that made me gain 24lbs within 3 months, so I went off that med. People always were calling me anorexic (I was 115lbs and 5’5″ most of my adult life) and would tell me to eat more. I was not starving myself, that was just “my normal.” Anyway, when I gained weight (139lbs), people started to tell me I looked fat and should lose weight. That’s within the normal range, so confusing. Now, I finally weight 126lbs and am happy with that.
If 2/3 of America is overweight, is that normal? I would say it’s normal, but not healthy, so we need to get the terms right and ask are people healthy, not normal.
Amen!
I’m in PA school and we are actually taught to compare levels (like blood pressure) to a patients norm, not necessarily the accepted norm. If your blood pressure averaged at 120/80 and then you randomly came in with 109/61, that would be some cause for concern, but considering your history, 109/61 is a perfectly normal BP. Your blood pressure is “technically” low, but it is important that your physician explain to you that having a low BP isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
I think it depends on the doctor – my BP is low, as are my resting heart rate and my cholesterol – I work out 7 days/week, sometimes 2x/day. But I’m in my 40’s and I think some docs assume that with middle age come “health issues.” Fine to be alert – but why not ask the questions BEFORE sounding the alarm? Some do, but many jump to conclusions w/o getting all the facts. Grrrrr.
I don’t work out even half as much as you do (but I want to get there!) and my blood pressure is always really low. Last time I went to the doctor it was 100/60. They were like, “oh thats perfect!!!” So I’m not sure why your doctor would be so concerned! Mine is always that low and I’ve had it checked from a ton of different doctors and nobody has seemed at all concerned.
Ugh, I have the opposite problem, blood pressure that’s on the high side. Every time I go to the doctor I get same old spiel, but when they finally look up from their charts and see that I’m 1.) young and 2.) have a healthy bmi and 3.) am fairly muscular/fit, they FINALLY start asking questions. Turns out my high BP is strictly genetics, and there isn’t much I can do about it. I already eat a healthy low sodium diet, don’t drink, don’t smoke, work out regularly, etc etc. My mom has high BP, my aunt, cousins, uncles, etc etc. These are very healthy people, but *shrugs* we just have to deal with high BP. Eventually I’m going to have to take meds, which is fairly sucky, but their truly isn’t anything I can do about it. It makes me kinda sad, the realization that no matter what I do, no matter how healthy I live (vegan, raw, vegetarian, paleo, high protein, low carb, no sugar, no salt, etc etc) I’m still bound by genetics.
I hate that I’ll have to take meds, after a life time of being ridiculously healthy. I hate that I feel like I’ll be judged for it (by whom? the pharmacist?), but no one is actually judging me, its just me, battling against my self and my preconceived notions of people who have to take high blood pressure medication.
me too hun 🙁 almost all of my relatives have died from cardiovascular disease, and my blood pressure is high but with diet and exercise i’ve been able to get it down, however it’s still too high. Right now i’m pre-hypertensive and *sigh I’m doing as much as I can, but I’m in the same boat as you. The genetics are killing my efforts 🙁
My mom used to measure my growth by comparing me to a growth chart. When I was first told I might be anorexic because my heart rate was so low my grandma and aunt didn’t believe it because my heart rate was the same as my triathlon-running aunt. Everyone is different and comparing people to an average is just crazy. Especially when the doctors freak out when there is nothing wrong. They should know better.
I am the same my blood pressure tends to sit at 90/52 and has always been low but every single time i see my doctor he expresses concern “do you feel faint?”. I am a healthy weight, eat well and exercise regularly sometimes we just need to accept this is how our bodies are 🙂
I have low blood pressure as well, the lowest they’ve told me it was was 88/50!!! The nurse looked a little shocked, and asked if I felt ok. I felt fine! I have always had a BP lower than the average. I don’t have hypotension though. The ‘norm’ is just a gauge they can use to tell if something is wrong or not, but is not always 100%, like with BMI.
My blood pressure is suuuuper low, too, due to a healthy diet and lots of exercise. If it’s not a problems for you, great! For me, it can be an issue. It makes me feel dizzy and outrageously fatigued out of nowhere. At least now I know why, though! I drink some Gatorade or pickle juice or eat something salty to put myself back on an even keel (and get back on the STAGE!).
Let’s not compare all doctors to the norm, either. They’re just like everyone else – some are great people who really care and are great at their jobs. And some don’t care and just want to get home. I think this is true in every career, and while I don’t think it’s okay, I do think we need to find doctors we trust and not judge an entire group of people on a few who have hurt us.
I totally agree with you about how we shouldn’t be comparing doctor’s to the norm. I’m a nurse and I know personally I would never say some of the things the comments have said. Also, there are some very wonderful doctors!
I suppose norms are useful,but not when you´re talking to your dr or family.They should look more in depth before they put you in a category. I´ve been told a couple of times that I´m too thin and should stop ¨dieting¨ (= eating healthy and being vegetarian). It hasn´t bothered me much since it was only a few times,but many of my friends were really hurt by such things.
I was having a procedure done & while laying down on the gurney waiting for the doctor to come in, the heart rate monitor went down to 39 bpm & the anesthesiologist was freaked out until he found out that I was training for a half marathon 🙂
Go you!
I was always too thin since my early teens. Once I was even asked if I am anorexic (I was a healthy eater since I can remember) and questioned for a very long time. I was once also told my legs are too long comparing to my spine. And after I was shocked to see my scare from appendix operation, the fattest nurse ever told me “well, it looks you aren’t going to be a bikini model” with a grin…I at least had a chance, doh. Doctors aren’t that nice…
omg I was just told this yesterday by like all of my family…Instead of saying anything nice or complimenting me they all were saying I’m too thin I need to eat or stop working out so much and then when I went to eat with everyone they made a huge deal about me eating as if I were on display. It wasn’t cool and it kinda hurt my feelings. I just wish weight wasn’t brought up every time I see my family. I am healthy I take care of myself I eat right I workout to be healthy and I am happy with myself and after 2 kids I am in the best shape of my life now. So yeah I get it I know what it’s like to be called unhealthy!
Sarah, the same thing happens everytime I see family. “Are you eating right? Are you stressed? You’re too skinny; are you losing weight?” My impression (that I’ve told myself over and over in order to not flip out each time it happens) is that this is just my mother’s somewhat-misguided way of trying to take care of me from 500 miles away. I think she thinks if I hear this, next time I’m stressed, trying to squeeze a run in after work and before class, I’ll think, “Mom thinks I’m too skinny, maybe I should slow down, or at least eat a giant Chipotle burrito after this.” Alas, I just think its difficult for them to believe that we’re adults and capable of feeding ourselves and managing our lives (and our weight) on our own! I wouldn’t take it too personally, next time. 🙂
I had a doctor tell me every single time I went in that I needed to lose weight. Granted, I did have some excess weight but I have high muscle mass so my weight was really high because of that. He never measured my body fat percentage, and my blood pressure was always normal. I now know that I was healthy, but he fuelled a lot of self-esteem issues and anxiety about the “number” I weighed. I think it’s ridiculous that professionals who know what factors affect things like blood pressure and weight, would lead with an analysis without asking the appropriate questions of doing the relevant tests first.
I feel like this is a really common symptom of our messed up health system. Doctors are just too busy to really spend time with you to figure out what’s going on in your life and how you’re different from the “norm,” and then spend the time on extra tests like body fat percentage. You really have to self-advocate and push and fight to get the health care you deserve, all because everyone in health care is super stressed out and running around like chickens with their heads cut off! It’s not that they don’t care, it’s that they’re overbooked. It’s really unfortunate. . . .
It’s really interesting that you bring this up – I went for a check up and my doctor told me the same thing “Oh, low blood pressure? Wait, do you exercise? Ohhh ok, then you’re fine.”
Nothing nearly as serious as having a low blood pressure or anything… But I went through a similar situation a few weeks ago at the dentist. My dentist thought I had overly swollen tonsils with ulcers on them..(not having any symptoms, this REALLY freaked me out). So we booked an appointment for the ENT doctor the next day. Turns out, my tonsil are normal. They are swollen, but they’re swollen almost all year unless I take allergy medicine. I have horrible allergies. And the ”ulcers” weren’t even ulcers, they were something else – that was ”normall’ and O.K to have.
Way to go for you! For being so healthy!
I was told when I was at that oh so impressionable age of 13 that I was overweight for my height and my age…. mind you, I was the size of this doctor’s thigh. (I danced and played soccer at the time) Then, after looking at his chart and asking about my activity level, he noted that it was probably muscle weight, and that I was perfectly fine. I feel like the norms are only helpful in a general sense, but if someone is your doctor, they should try to customize the care to you first.
I’ve always had extremely low blood pressure, my normal range is somewhere between 94/60 to 86/57. While that is usually alarming to my new doctors when I have to switch, once they find out my family history of extremely high blood pressure, the fact that I work out 5-6 days a week AND that I suffer from migraines, it usually takes care of that issue, especially after they review my medical file and see that I’ve been this way from ages 10-30 something :):). I did have a doctor try to put me on medication because of it, I immediately got a second opinion and that doctor told me to throw the pills out, with my family history it would do me more harm than good. So ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION when possible.