Discover your health profile

How does the new profile tool work?

Host – Hello and welcome to the Health and Nutrition webchat. My name is Mai Davis and today we will be looking at a new health profile tool that has been developed by experts to help us all get that healthy lifestyle we really want. Joining me today is Azmina Govindji, health expert, dietitian, and well-known broadcaster and author.

Host – Now Azmina, can you just explain what the health profile tool is and what it's for?

Azmina – OK, well, we've had the season of indulgence, if you remember! And one of the reasons for setting up these new profiles was, you know, we start the year with good intentions but generally that lasts about three weeks, and the reason for that is that we don't set ourselves realistic goals. These profiles are intended to give you small, achievable steps so that you actually are supported through the change in lifestyle, rather than trying to do too much all at once.

Host – Yes, because everybody joins a gym in January and doesn't bother going in February, because they're aiming too high.

Azmina – It's too much. So this is about acknowledging where you are and giving you achievable steps to actually get yourself improved in terms of your health and lifestyle.

 

Getting to know your profile

Host – Obviously we all want a healthy lifestyle but sometimes it's difficult for us to know what to do, we're bombarded with all kinds of information, and it's actually quite hard to know whether you're fit and healthy, how to get fit and healthy. So tell us how this health profile tool works.

Azmina – Well, the main thing is that it's about acknowledging where you are. You know, if you think you're someone who sits around all day and eats takeaways, well that's where you are, it's OK. So the profile tool acknowledges where you are. We have a series of questions that are based on how fit you are or not, how well you eat or not, and also your attitude, because a lot of what we do in terms of our lifestyle is based on what we're thinking.

Azmina – Whether we're optimists or pessimists, whether we cope with stress, whether we cope with our emotions. So it actually gives you an assessment, like a quite holistic assessment of where you are, and that fits you into a series of profiles. The computer software creates a profile for you, and it's based on your average score, and you might come out at a 1, 2, 3 or 4 in terms of your profiles.

Host – And is it quite difficult, is it lots and lots of questions?

Azmina – It's quite concise, it's six questions per section, so 18 altogether, and they're quite easy. It's things like, how often do you have breakfast or, you know, when you've got some spare time how likely would you be to get your trainers on and go for a walk. And if you're not going to, you'd be at this end, and if you're somebody who does that all the time you'd be at that end.

Azmina – And it's a sliding scale, so you don't need to think am I number 1 or number 5. It's actually a little grid, so you can just move the cursor along and say, “I'm about there” – very easy to fill in, actually.

Host – So it's easy to use, so anybody could use it?

Azmina – Oh easily, yes.

 

Setting realistic goals...

Host – We were talking earlier about how at this time of year people give up on their fitness because they haven't set a realistic goal. Is that what this profile tool helps you to do?

Azmina – Yes, and I think that's a really important part of it. It's about setting realistic goals based on the profile that you're on. So if you're a 1 or a 2, you're given tips and advice on how to perhaps look at your life a little bit more in an optimistic way, be a half-full glass person rather than a half-empty.

Azmina – You might be given suggestions on, you know, when you're out on the escalator start walking up, just try that, or lose the remote control for a day – just simple things that you can achieve. So you might do the test one day and you might say, right, I'm going to take on these tips, and you might decide, right, I'm going to give myself a month and then go back on and see whether I've moved up a profile.

Azmina – And that's the whole point of it – to encourage you to slowly move up to a comfortable level for you.

Host – So there are about 18 questions, in different sections. What kind of questions are there?

 

...to improve diet, fitness and motivation

Azmina – So, for example, you might be asked how you deal with your emotions – you know, if you're feeling upset, how do you deal with that? And that gives us insights as to whether you're someone who comfort eats, who wallows in it and actually that makes you less active, less able to cope and you can go into a downward spiral.

Host – That's interesting, because if you think I'm going to fill in a health questionnaire, or about fitness and diet, you don't automatically think I'm going to fill in questions about my emotions. But, of course, it is very important, because comfort eating is one of the biggest things that sabotages diets, especially for us girls.

Azmina – Exactly and so it's looking at that, how do you cope with stress. And also, when you think of fitness, we know that, if you are active, you release endorphins or happy hormones, that actually helps you to cope with life, regardless of the toning and all the other benefits that you're getting, so that's why it's so holistic.

Azmina – In terms of food, if you're a profile 1, for example, you're probably someone who doesn't have breakfast, who misses meals, who probably has what I call brown or yellow food, which is your nuggets, your chips and maybe some tomato ketchup, but really very little natural colour on that plate etc. So you're given tips on how you can perhaps try a banana twice a week if you're not a breakfast person, or try a handful of nuts as you run out the door – anything that might be realistic and achievable for you.

 

Accepting where you are now

Host – So it's got to be realistic and first of all you've got to acknowledge where you are. And it's OK, wherever you are.

Azmina – Absolutely.

Host – So if you're somebody who has never taken any exercise and is very overweight and a bit dispirited, that's OK, you can start from here.

Azmina – Yes. I think the key is knowing where you are and acknowledging it. You know, not going into denial either. “I am overweight, I do eat junk, I don't know how to cook” – whatever it is, it's about actually being OK with that. And if you think of the psychology of it, that's quite liberating, you know?

Host – Very!

Azmina – That nobody's judging you. This is about acknowledging where you are – what do you think would be achievable and simple enough to take on. And it might be you continue to have the takeaway but, you know, how about having some sweetcorn with it. So, simple steps to improve what you're actually doing now.

Host – Let's have a look at the levels. You said there are four profile levels – 1-4. So let's start with profile 1: what kind of person are you if you're profile 1?

Azmina – OK, so in terms of nutrition, which is where my expertise lies, you probably don't have breakfast and you're probably someone who has quite irregular meal patterns, and possibly very little variation in what you eat – you know, you might eat the same foods generally throughout the week and probably never enter the kitchen, or maybe just for the microwave!

Azmina – So this is about experimenting a little bit. Perhaps think to yourself, when you've got that plate of food, how could I add something to lift that plate up? What could I add to give it a little bit more balance? It might be, OK, you're not a breakfast person, fine – do you think when you get to work you could have something then?

Azmina – It could be a latte – skimmed milk ideally because we've all heard the publicity around the calories in a latte – but, you know, something that you think you could manage, because the key is to get your blood sugar up. It's like kick-starting your engine in the morning. And a lot of people who are overweight – probably profile 1's – tend to think, “If I don't have breakfast, I'm not going to have all those calories, this will help me to lose weight.”

Host – But their blood sugar will be round their ankles when they get to work?

Azmina – Exactly, so you're not performing well, you're not concentrating well, but also it's counter-productive because you're probably really hungry by about 11 o'clock and the lady with the iced buns comes into the office…

Host – At 11 o'clock and you have to have one.

Azmina – And you go for it, don't you?

Host – With a full-fat latte!

Azmina – There you go, so it's defeating the purpose. So the key is to force yourself… I mean, I've got two children and I have forced them to have breakfast from a very young age and now, no matter what time it is, they will always have breakfast. And that's one thing that I feel I've managed to do right. But it really is about conditioning yourself to start to eat something in the morning.

Host – And, of course, if you don't eat something, your body thinks there's a famine, it goes into famine mode and it hangs onto the calories you do eat.

Azmina – It will make you store fat much more efficiently.

Host – So what else is there in profile 1? Is there any fitness advice for profile 1's?

Azmina – Yes, and there is advice on getting your mind on your side, so you know how to recognise your negative self-talk. We all have a little voice in our heads that says, “Oh, why did you do that, why did you have to say that, couldn't you have kept your mouth shut”, or whatever. It's acknowledging that negative self-talk; that's all it's about at profile 1, just notice it.

Azmina – In terms of fitness, it's questions like, you know, when you've got some spare time, do you sit and watch telly or do you think, let me go and have a bit of a walk. So it's looking at all three aspects of your life, acknowledging where you are and taking those achievable steps.

Host – Ok, just remind everybody what the site is, because I'm sure they're all thinking, “Right, I'm going to get on there.”

Azmina – I want to get on there!

Host – Now then, if you're not profile 1 and perhaps you're lucky enough to be up a level and be profile 2, what kind of person would find themselves in profile 2?

Azmina – OK, so you've probably got some knowledge and you're trying to put some changes into practice, so, you know, we all know about five-a-day and at profile 2 you're probably managing one or two portions. That's about the average for the UK anyway.

Host – I was going to say, actually, sometimes it's really difficult to do five portions a day.

Azmina – It's really hard. And if you did a survey outside I bet you almost everyone would know five-a-day is the message, but whether they're keeping to it… research is showing that we're averaging about two portions a day in the UK. So it isn't just about knowing what to do, it's about how do you put that into practice?

Host – Yes. Especially if you're busy or you're a working mum. If you're running around it's actually very difficult.

Azmina – Yes, it is hard.

Host – I've heard the phrase “eat a rainbow”. You know, lots of different colours on your plate – it is quite hard, isn't it?

Azmina – It is, but again, I quite like the “eat a rainbow” because it's another little achievable one. It's like, when you're sitting there with your plate and you haven't got anything green, it could be as simple as slicing a bit of cucumber – a 5cm or a 2 inch stick of cucumber is one of your portions.

Host – So that's a portion?

Azmina – It's as simple as that.

Host – That's really easy. isn't it?

Azmina – It's not much. Or a few olives. So actually, I think that one is a really achievable one, and you'll probably manage that easily at profile 2. It's just vary the colours, and I wonder whether we could actually get three colours on our plates rather than the browns and the yellows, like the nuggets and chips.

Host – So even if you order a takeaway curry, whack a piece of cucumber on your plate, maybe a little bit of sweetcorn…

Azmina – And you've done a couple there, you've got the varied colours.

Host – And what about fitness levels for profile 2, what could they do? What are they doing now and how do they need to step up?

Azmina – It all depends on where you are now, where you scored on those questionnaires, and then what happens is our fitness expert, Lucy, gives you tailored advice that will help you get to something that's a little bit more achievable for you.

 

Sustainability is the key

Host – It seems to me that, you know, what we were saying about realistic goals, you don't have to race, you don't have to think if you're profile 1, I've got to get to profile 4 – you can do it a step at a time?

Azmina – That's right.

Host – So, I'm just going to move up through the profiles.

Azmina – Yes, and it may be that you settle on profile 2 or 3 and you're happy there.

Host – Which is better than where you were?

Azmina – It is. So it's not about let me become, you know, a celebrity fitness…

Host – An Olympic athlete!

Azmina – Exactly, you know, that may not be for you. It's about acknowledging where you are and actually making some changes. The key for me is sustainability, and that's where diets and all these lifestyle changes do not last, that's where they fail, because it doesn't last.

Host – Because it's a regime that's not natural to us, isn't it?

Azmina – That's right. I'd say that really, if you're looking at these profiles, I do think you should give yourself a month for each. So go on, if you're profile 1, go back in a month, take on the advice, if you're happy there, just make sure you carry on and keep coming back to check where you are – you don't want to be slipping down to 1 again, or you might even want to move up to 3.

Host – The key to this is that this tool makes it really easy for you to make the small changes that then build up.

Azmina – Yes, yes.

Host – So what about profile 3 then, moving on through the fitness levels, we're getting more towards the top now – what's profile 3 like?

Azmina – Profile 3 you're pretty OK. You know, you've taken on a lot of the advice, you're probably a good breakfast eater, probably have regular meals. This is when you can start to be a little bit more savvy. So, for example, taking a little bit of time in a supermarket to look at labels – so, you know, too much salt or too much sugar is unhealthy.

Host – Yes, because labelling is much better than it used to be.

Azmina – It is. We've got the front of pack colour coding by the Food Standards Agency. Some manufacturers are using what we call guideline daily amounts, and that allows you to look at – if this ready meal is giving me 25 per cent of my GDA for fat, that's about right, because I'd expect about a quarter of my fat to come from this meal. So it is getting a lot easier, but who's got the time to scrutinise the percentages, you know…

Host – If you're doing kind of a raid on a supermarket and you've got two children in tow who want sweets, “I want this, I want that, I want fizzy pop.”

Azmina – It is hard, yes.

Host – It's difficult to sit and look at the labels, isn't it?

Azmina – But at profile 3 you're probably doing a lot of things quite well, so this is where we might introduce something like just spend that little bit more time reading labels, or start being a little bit more creative in the kitchen, because at profile 3 you're probably doing a bit of cooking, so it's about, you know, maybe get a new recipe book.

Azmina – And although you have a hectic lifestyle there are quick and easy recipes, some on the website, but also lots of recipe books out there, that are actually much simpler. And maybe just, you know, having more fun with food, I suppose.

Host – There are some recipes on the site to help you?

Azmina – There are, yes

Host – Which is very useful whether you're profile 1 or profile 3.

Azmina – That's right.

Host – And when you now get into profile 4 – are these people who are super-fit?

Azmina – Well, the government recommends five sessions of moderate intensity activity and these sessions would be about 30 minutes, and if you're profile 4 you're probably quite close to that. So you probably lead a reasonably active lifestyle, you're probably eating quite a varied diet, making sure you don't miss meals, having breakfast.

Azmina – And in terms of your mind, you're possibly a reasonable positive thinker – you know, you're sort of quite OK to cope with general stress and you don't get yourself too frazzled. So this is the time to sharpen the saw, if you like.

Host – So even if you are profile 4, don't get complacent, the site can still help you?

Azmina – Oh, absolutely.

Host – And help you sustain what you're doing and perhaps give you a few tips to make it easier to be a profile 4?

Azmina – Yes it does, it gives you those tips for making it easier but also sustainable, because you may be a profile 4 today, you have a lot of stress next month – moving house or having a baby – – and it all goes to pot, so this is about sustainability. And often the sort of advice on profile 4 would be, for example, get support, make sure you've got the whole family involved in this new, healthy lifestyle, or get your friends involved, have that support and, you know, doing things together, because it's not only about you, it's about the people you care about.

Host – And you say there about, you know, stresses you could have. I suppose a lot of profile 4 people might be slightly younger and, of course, a woman might be terribly fit now because she's got an active life and a good job or whatever, then she gets married, has babies or whatever, and then everything goes pphheeeeee!

Azmina – Yes, we've all been there!

Host – So I suppose, even if you are a profile 4, looking at the site would, as you say, make it easier for you to carry on being a 3 or a 4 and not slip too far down?

Azmina – That's right, it is very easy to slip.

Involving family and friends

Host – Very easy. Too easy. So not just that, but perhaps you're very fit but the rest of your family isn't. So you could get everybody on board, get the whole family looking at their profile and perhaps using it as a game – OK, how can we help each other to kind of move through the profile?

Azmina – That's a good idea. Compete with each other. I'm on a 4 you're on a 3!

Host – Yes, you could have big family arguments over that! So, would you say that this is the kind of tool for anybody who's feeling overwhelmed?

Azmina – I'd say it's just for anybody full stop. I think that, you know, if you're someone who cares about your health, your fitness level, the people around you, you want to be there for the people around you, and you just want to have a little bit more get up and go, I'd suggest to people just to try out the quick assessment, it just gives you an idea as to where you are.

Host – And how long does that take?

Azmina – Well, it's only 18 clicks.

Host – That's not long, is it?

Azmina – Azmina: It's just six questions on each, very, very quick, and that just gives you an idea as to where you are. And then look at the advice and see if you can take something on.

Host – So this is for everybody basically. Whether they're fit now or whether they're not fit, you can always improve.

Azmina – Absolutely. Or even if staying where you are is where you want to be, it will help you do that.

Host – And I think the key to this website is that (1) doing the assessment is easy, and (2) following the advice is also easy.

Azmina – A practical way of doing it, yes.

Host – It's not going to be a huge regime you're going to have to download and follow.

Azmina – No, and it's just tailored to where you are.

Host – Perfect. Azmina, as ever, a pleasure. Thank you very much for joining me today.