My dad is a retired police officer, and when I drive, the voice I still hear in my head telling me over and over is, “Young lady, they make speed limits for a reason.”

You see, the reason it’s still burned in my brain is that I heard it A LOT. In fact, it took 10 written warnings and one really expensive speeding ticket from other police officers before I actually decided to listen to “good-ole Dad.”

Just as my dad knew and tried to explain to me that speed limits are set to protect lives, I am now trying to do the same when it comes to explaining clinical limits.

I’m talking about your basics metrics — cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose, waist circumference, metabolic syndrome, etc. — that are being completed in your doctor’s office or, for some employers, at biometric screenings. And like speed limits, the clinical guidelines are also set to protect lives.

Where it starts to get tricky is when people start wanting to change the limits…or at least change what they think the limits should be to make them easier to adhere to.

Studies show that on an open highway with a speed limit of 65 mph and little-to-no traffic, 72 percent of the time, drivers are likely to exceed the limit. Does that mean we should make the speed limit higher since drivers aren’t going to stay at the current limit? No. It’s kept at the same limit based on all the research and studies that have been shown it to be safest.

You see, the speed limit doesn’t change just because drivers won’t slow down. And the same goes for clinical guidelines. They are in place due to years and years of medical research, study, and analysis on how best to keep our bodies safe and functioning at peak performance. Our amazing medical providers know there’s a reason for these levels to be aimed for, and they’re doing their best to educate us as to why and how to get to these levels. We then have to do the driving and get our bodies in limit.

I know clinical change is hard. I know it takes time, focus, and just down-right grit sometimes. And yes, it would be easier to appease the world and make the guidelines easier to obtain…similar to the thought on how it would be easier to change the speed limit to let us feel better about going faster. But, we’re talking about lives, and compromising on helping improve lives doesn’t help — it, instead, can truly hurt.

So, if you’re facing questions about the limits or getting push back to change the guidelines, come talk to us! We have a host of clinical experts on our team that can explain these, why they’re in place, and give options to help you navigate this area.

We have solutions we know can actually get our bodies within the limits and, in doing so, not compromise lives!