THE WEEKENDER: Body Volume Index
The Strong Woman
By Claire Cooper Black
Aging. It has its ups and its downs. Let’s start with the downs.
This past year or so I lost 1 ½” in height. It was a surprise to me! I was at one of my, now many, doctor’s office when they were weighing me (we will get to that later) and measuring me. The nurse casually says 5’ 7”. I looked at her and said, WHAT? She repeated it a little louder probably thinking that I am losing a bit of my hearing. I was shocked, shocked I tell you. I have been 5’ 8 ½” since I was four. I was always one of the tall girls at school.
Where did it go? Seriously, where did 1 ½” go in the past couple of years? And don’t tell me gravity compresses your spinal column and you start to shrink. I’m not buying that. If that were true, I would be 3 ½” tall at my age.
And if 1 ½” can just get up and walk off, why couldn’t it take weight with it? I mean if I’m starting to disappear, weight should be disappearing also. Am I right?
Unfortunately, that’s not how aging works. How it really works is that if your body secretly shrinks, you are unaware of such and your weight remains the same, you now have an unacceptable BMI (Body MASS Index). Really, couldn’t somebody come up with a better acronym without using the word MASS? I prefer BVI (Body Volume Index). Reminds me of a shampoo commercial. Volume is much more acceptable than Mass.
Now for the up side … I’m eligible for Senior Discounts.
Kind of a letdown isn’t it. I SAID, KIND OF A LETDOWN ISN’T IT!