Managing personal health can be a numbers game. Count those calories, watch that weight, track how many miles you run.

Some fitness buffs obsess about the statistics that reveal conditioning but are clueless about the kinds of numbers that reveal how healthy - or unhealthy - we truly are. They can rattle off their body mass index but don’t know the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure numbers.

In these digital times, checking blood pressure has never been easier. There are blood pressure apps and even home monitors that hook up to an iPhone.

Online calculators for BMI and kiosks at pharmacies and grocery stores make it convenient to get readings.

Some employers offer health screenings, and personal physicians can easily provide important numbers that require a blood test during a routine physical.

Want to take charge of your health? Get to know these five barometers of wellness:120/80 BLOOD PRESSURE

Optimal: less than 120/80

What it is: Measures the pressure of blood flowing through your arteries. “Think of it as a garden hose,” said Tasha Gastony, a physician’s assistant at the Park Nicollet Clinic in Eagan, Minn. “The higher the pressure, the more risk there [is for] damage to that blood vessel and damage to the organs that those vessels feed.”

Why it’s important: People with high blood pressure often don’t feel any symptoms. Untreated high blood pressure, over time, greatly increases the chances of having a stroke, heart disease or kidney failure.

200TOTAL CHOLESTEROL

Optimal: below 200 mg/ dL

What it is: This numberis a combination of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and other fats in your blood.

Why it’s important: If there’s too much cholesterol in your blood, it keeps circulating and that bad cholesterol can eventually enter the blood vessel walls. A buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries can block blood flow.

100

FASTING BLOOD SUGAR

Optimal: less than 100mg/dL

What it is: Tells you what the glucose (sugar)content is in your blood.

Why it’s important: Helps screen for diabetes.

18.

5-25BMI

Optimal: greater than 18.5, less than 25

What it is: Stands for body mass index. It’s a formula that takes your mass (in kilograms), divided by height (in meters squared). It classifies you as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese using against statistical norms developed by measuring large populations.

Why it’s important: Statistics suggest that people who rank as overweight or obese are at a higher risk for health problems such as high blood pressure, coronary vascular disease, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea and arthritis. But individuals vary, and very muscular people can have a misleadingly high BMI.

35 or 40WAIST SIZE

Optimal: less than 35 inches (women); less than 40 inches (men).

What it is: The circumference around your belly - the area above your hipbone and below your ribcage.

Why it’s important: People with large waistlines have too much abdominal fat, putting them at high risk for Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary vascular disease.

ActiveStyle, Pages 27 on 09/09/2013