# Ten blood numbers to know before a 2027 weight goal Canonical URL: https://www.hemed.com/blog/numbers-to-know-before-a-weight-goal Plain-text URL: https://www.hemed.com/blog/numbers-to-know-before-a-weight-goal/llms.txt Published: 2026-10-27 Modified: 2026-10-27 Author: The HeMed clinical team Topic: Conditions and risks Topic URL: https://www.hemed.com/blog/topic/conditions-and-risks Tags: Blood markers, Sleep apnoea, Cholesterol and heart Reading time: 16 min Publisher: HeMed (https://www.hemed.com/) ## Summary Ten blood markers with their UK guide levels, and the conditions they can and cannot point to, from fatty liver to sleep apnoea. ## Article Before you set a weight goal for 2027, get ten numbers. Five describe your blood fats and heart risk and three describe your liver. The other two are HbA1c (your average blood sugar) and TSH (the hormone that tells your thyroid how hard to work). You may never have seen them. High cholesterol usually causes no symptoms. Not everyone with high blood sugar has symptoms, and fatty liver is usually silent. So a target weight without these numbers is a guess about a body you have not measured. This guide gives the ten numbers with their UK guide levels and the conditions each one can point to. It then covers four conditions linked to excess weight that these ten numbers do not show. Those are high blood pressure and sleep apnoea, then low testosterone and gout. ### Why start with numbers, not a target weight? A number you can retest is a goal you can check. A target weight tells you nothing about your blood sugar, your cholesterol or your liver. In England in 2024, 70% of men were overweight or living with obesity. Among men, 45% had raised cholesterol and 32% had high blood pressure. Another 2% of adults had diabetes that had not been diagnosed. None of those conditions tends to announce itself. The NHS says high cholesterol does not usually cause symptoms and can only be found with a blood test. Not everyone with type 2 diabetes has symptoms either. The free NHS Health Check covers adults in England aged 40 to 74 once every 5 years. In the last published breakdown by sex, 38% of the men offered a check attended. A man of 35 with a growing waist is not on the invitation list. Measured first, a goal becomes specific. An HbA1c below 42 mmol/mol is a result you can check again. A number on the bathroom scales tells you nothing about your blood sugar. ### What are the ten numbers? The ten numbers cover four areas: heart and circulation (five markers) plus liver (three) plus blood sugar and thyroid (one each). Cholesterol and triglycerides (the fats your body stores and burns for energy) make up the first five. The NHS calls its levels a guide for healthy adults and says targets depend on age and existing conditions. Cholesterol and triglyceride results come in millimoles per litre (mmol/L) and HbA1c in millimoles per mole (mmol/mol). The liver enzymes and TSH are read against your laboratory’s reference range. #### Heart and circulation: five markers Heart and circulation markers: what each measures, the UK guide level and what it can point to Marker | What it measures | UK guide level | Can point to Total cholesterol | The overall amount of cholesterol in your blood | Below 5 mmol/L | Heart and circulation risk LDL cholesterol | The carrier cholesterol that can build up in artery walls | Below 3 mmol/L | Heart and circulation risk HDL cholesterol | The clean-up cholesterol that helps move excess cholesterol away | Above 1.0 mmol/L for men | Low HDL with high triglycerides: weight carried around the middle Triglycerides | The fats your body stores and burns for energy | Below 1.7 mmol/L fasting or below 2.0 mmol/L non-fasting | Linked to heart and circulation risk; fatty liver Cholesterol ratio | Your total cholesterol divided by your HDL cholesterol | No single cut-off; an input to the QRISK calculator | Ten-year heart and circulation risk #### Liver, blood sugar and thyroid: five markers Liver, blood sugar and thyroid markers: what each measures, the UK guide level and what it can point to Marker | What it measures | UK guide level | Can point to ALT | An enzyme that leaks into the blood when liver cells are under strain | Your laboratory’s reference range | Fatty liver; alcohol; diabetes AST | A second liver enzyme, read alongside ALT | Your laboratory’s reference range | Liver strain; also found in heart and muscle, so read alongside ALT GGT | An enzyme that rises with liver stress, including from alcohol | Your laboratory’s reference range | Liver stress; alcohol in the previous 24 hours can raise it HbA1c | Your average blood sugar over roughly the past three months | Below 42 mmol/mol is normal; 42 to 47 is prediabetes; 48 or over is the diabetes range when a repeat test confirms it | Prediabetes; type 2 diabetes TSH | The signalling hormone that tells your thyroid how hard to work | Your laboratory’s reference range; high often means underactive and low can mean overactive | Thyroid function #### Reading a result QRISK is the calculator GPs use to estimate the chance of a heart or circulation problem over the next 10 years. A clinician makes any diagnosis, not the test. A result outside a range is a reason to look closer, not a verdict. For what each marker means in full, see What does a men’s health blood test check for? ### Which conditions can a blood test point to? Four conditions linked to excess weight leave traces in these numbers. Blood sugar and heart risk are the clearest. Fatty liver and thyroid problems are the ones a clinician reads with more care. #### Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes HbA1c shows both. Below 42 mmol/mol is normal. From 42 to 47 mmol/mol is prediabetes (also called non-diabetic hyperglycaemia). A result of 48 or over is the diabetes range when a repeat test confirms it in someone without symptoms. Diabetes UK estimates that prediabetes affects around one in 12 people, and it usually has no symptoms. If your result sits at 42 to 47, UK guidance is an HbA1c check at least once a year. See Prediabetes in men: what an HbA1c of 42 to 47 means and what to do next. #### Heart and circulation risk The QRISK calculation uses the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL as its lipid figure, alongside your age and blood pressure and other factors. LDL takes cholesterol from the liver to your cells and gets stuck to artery walls when there is too much. HDL takes cholesterol you do not need back to the liver. High triglycerides with low HDL is a pattern HEART UK links to people who carry weight around the middle. See High cholesterol in men: warning signs you should not ignore. #### Fatty liver Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is now called MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease). It is usually silent and found by chance. A raised ALT can come with high alcohol intake or diabetes or raised triglycerides, all of which can cause fatty liver. More than 80% of people with MASLD have normal routine liver blood tests, so a normal result does not rule it out. The European liver guideline (EASL, EASD and EASO) recommends sustained weight loss of 5% or more to reduce liver fat. It recommends 10% or more to improve scarring. Those are population targets, not a prediction for any one person. See Silent liver disease (MASLD): signs your liver is under strain. #### Thyroid TSH is the first thyroid test NICE recommends. NICE is the body that writes NHS clinical guidance. A high TSH often means an underactive thyroid and a low TSH can mean an overactive one. The thyroid rarely explains large weight gain. The British Thyroid Foundation says around 2 to 5 kg (5 to 10 pounds) may be attributable to an underactive thyroid, much of it fluid. ### Which conditions do these ten numbers not show? No blood test shows high blood pressure or sleep apnoea. Testosterone and uric acid can be measured, but they are not in the HeMed panel. Each of the four conditions below is linked to excess weight and each has its own check. #### High blood pressure High blood pressure does not usually cause any symptoms, and the only way to find out is to get it checked. The NHS lists being overweight among the things that increase your chances of having it. In England in 2024, 32% of men had it. It needs a cuff, not a blood sample. Blood pressure is not part of the HeMed test. The NHS says to get checked at a pharmacy or GP surgery if you are 40 or over. That applies when you have not been checked for more than 5 years. #### Obstructive sleep apnoea Sleep apnoea is when your breathing stops and starts during sleep. The NHS lists loud snoring and gasping, snorting or choking noises among the signs. It affects up to 4% of middle-aged men in the UK and is about twice as common in men as in women. Up to 85% of cases are undiagnosed. Obesity is one of the links the NHS lists. BMI is body mass index: your weight set against your height. In population studies, about 6 in 10 cases of moderate-to-severe sleep-disordered breathing are attributable to a BMI of 25 or more. No blood test detects it. If a GP suspects it, they may refer you to a sleep clinic for overnight tests. Some of those tests are done at home. The NHS advice includes losing weight if you are overweight. See Sleep apnoea and weight gain: the link men overlook. #### Low testosterone Testosterone is not in the HeMed panel. A GP arranges that test. Diagnosing testosterone deficiency needs symptoms plus a fasting morning sample taken between 7 and 11 am, repeated if the first result is low or borderline. Obesity can contribute to low testosterone, but it has many possible causes and needs proper assessment. See Low testosterone and weight gain: the overlooked connection in men. #### Gout Gout causes sudden severe pain in a joint, usually the big toe. It is more common in men and being overweight raises the chance. A GP can measure the uric acid in your blood. That test is not in the HeMed panel. The NHS advice is to lose weight if you are overweight, but to avoid crash diets. ### Does the NHS Health Check give you these numbers? Partly, and only from 40. The NHS Health Check is offered every 5 years to adults in England aged 40 to 74 without an existing cardiovascular diagnosis. It measures height, weight and waist. It also checks blood pressure and cholesterol and possibly blood sugar. Under 40 you are not invited at all. The online version is designed to offer all its users a cholesterol test: total cholesterol, HDL and the ratio. An HbA1c test is offered only to users its risk score puts in the high-risk group. You submit your own blood pressure reading. The July 2025 overview does not mention liver enzymes or TSH. It describes a cholesterol test and an HbA1c test for high-risk users. Wider rollout of the online check was planned from spring 2026. ### How does HeMed fit in? HeMed starts with a blood test. A clinician reviews your blood test first. A retest every 6 months shows what’s actually changing. You start with a needle-free test of 10 markers across your heart, liver, blood sugar and thyroid. Fasting tests and hormone panels are not included; those are arranged through your GP. HeMed does not diagnose or treat the conditions described above. ### Frequently asked questions **What blood tests should a man have before trying to lose weight?** A useful baseline covers four areas. Cholesterol and triglycerides describe heart and circulation risk. ALT, AST and GGT describe the liver. HbA1c describes average blood sugar and TSH describes thyroid function. A clinician reads them together with your blood pressure and your history. **What is a normal HbA1c for a man?** Below 42 mmol/mol is normal in UK practice. From 42 to 47 mmol/mol is prediabetes and carries a high risk of type 2 diabetes. A result of 48 or over is the diabetes range once a repeat test confirms it. **Can a blood test detect sleep apnoea?** No. Sleep apnoea is diagnosed from your breathing during sleep. A GP who suspects it may refer you to a sleep clinic for overnight tests, some of them done at home. Loud snoring and breathing that stops and starts are the signs to mention. Losing weight is part of the NHS advice if you are overweight. **Is testosterone included in a weight-loss blood test?** No. Testosterone is not in the HeMed panel, and a GP arranges that test. It needs a fasting morning sample between 7 and 11 am and a repeat if the first result is low or borderline. Obesity can contribute to low testosterone, but it has many possible causes. **What cholesterol level is healthy for men in the UK?** The NHS guide for healthy adults is total cholesterol below 5 mmol/L and HDL above 1.0 mmol/L for men. The NHS guide for non-HDL cholesterol (your total minus HDL) is below 4 mmol/L, and it is not one of the ten markers. The cholesterol charity HEART UK gives LDL below 3 mmol/L. Your GP reads these with your age and blood pressure to estimate ten-year risk. Targets differ if you already have a condition. **Why do liver enzymes matter for weight?** ALT, AST and GGT rise when liver cells are under strain. Fatty liver is one cause and is usually silent. A raised result is a reason to look closer, not a diagnosis. A normal result does not rule fatty liver out. More than 80% of people with fatty liver have normal routine liver blood tests. **How often should these numbers be checked?** The NHS Health Check repeats every 5 years from 40 to 74 in England. If your HbA1c is 42 to 47 mmol/mol, UK guidance is a check at least once a year. HeMed starts with a blood test. A retest every 6 months shows what’s actually changing. HeMed provides clinician-led weight management. Treatment is prescription-only and is prescribed only where a clinician decides it is suitable. This page is general health information, not medical advice. If you are worried about symptoms, speak to your GP, or use NHS 111. Next step: see what the HeMed blood test measures. Sources (27) - NHS, "High cholesterol" (page last reviewed 13 March 2026): high cholesterol does not usually cause symptoms and can only be found with a blood test. nhs.uk/conditions/high-cholesterol. Accessed 22 September 2026. - NHS, "Type 2 diabetes: symptoms" (page last reviewed 10 February 2025): not everyone with type 2 diabetes has symptoms. nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms. Accessed 8 October 2026. - NICE, "MASLD: assessment and management", NG49 (last updated 31 July 2026), context: MASLD is usually asymptomatic and detected incidentally; "more than 80% of patients with MASLD have normal routine liver blood tests". nice.org.uk/guidance/ng49. Accessed 8 October 2026. - NHS England Digital, Health Survey for England 2024, "Adults' overweight and obesity": overweight or living with obesity: 70% of men against 62% of women. digital.nhs.uk. Accessed 3 August 2026. - NHS England Digital, Health Survey for England 2024, "Adults' health": raised cholesterol 48% of adults (men 45%); hypertension 30% (men 32%); diabetes 9%, of which 2% undiagnosed. digital.nhs.uk. Accessed 22 September 2026. - NHS, "NHS Health Check": free for adults aged 40 to 74 in England without an existing cardiovascular diagnosis, every 5 years; height, weight, waist, blood pressure, cholesterol and possibly blood sugar. nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-health-check. Accessed 15 October 2026. - NHS England Digital, "NHS Health Check Programme 2012-13 to 2017-18" (published 26 May 2022), age band and sex file: 509,351 of 1,339,384 men recorded (38.0%) and 598,703 of 1,361,775 women (44.0%) attended. digital.nhs.uk. Accessed 15 October 2026. - NHS, "Cholesterol levels" (page last reviewed 13 March 2026): total cholesterol "Below 5mmol/L"; HDL "Above 1.0mmol/L for men or above 1.2mmol/L for women"; non-HDL "Below 4mmol/L"; the levels are "a guide for healthy adults"; a GP may use "a score (called a QRISK score)" to estimate the chance of a heart or circulation problem over the next 10 years. nhs.uk/conditions/high-cholesterol/cholesterol-levels. Accessed 27 October 2026. - HEART UK, "Understanding your cholesterol test results" (updated 14 March 2025): LDL below 3 mmol/L as a healthy adult level; the total to HDL ratio is only required for QRISK risk calculation. heartuk.org.uk. Accessed 8 October 2026. - HEART UK, "Triglycerides" (updated 3 March 2025): below 1.7 mmol/L fasting and below 2.0 mmol/L non-fasting; high triglycerides with low HDL in people who carry weight around the middle. heartuk.org.uk/cholesterol/triglycerides. Accessed 8 October 2026. - Association for Laboratory Medicine, Lab Tests Online UK, "Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test": a moderately high ALT can occur with high alcohol intake, diabetes or raised triglycerides, all of which can cause fatty liver. labtestsonline.org.uk. Accessed 8 October 2026. - Association for Laboratory Medicine, Lab Tests Online UK, "Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) test": AST is found mainly in the liver and heart. labtestsonline.org.uk. Accessed 8 October 2026. - Association for Laboratory Medicine, Lab Tests Online UK, "Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) test": a raised GGT indicates something is going on with the liver but not specifically what; alcohol in the previous 24 hours can raise it temporarily. labtestsonline.org.uk. Accessed 8 October 2026. - Diabetes UK, "Diagnostic criteria for diabetes" (clinical recommendations, following WHO 2011): HbA1c of 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) is the diagnostic cut-off and a first result at or above it is repeated; 42 to 47 mmol/mol indicates non-diabetic hyperglycaemia with an HbA1c check at least once a year. diabetes.org.uk. Accessed 13 October 2026. - Diabetes UK, "Prediabetes" (content last reviewed 27 January 2026): a normal HbA1c is below 42 mmol/mol; prediabetes is 42 to 47 mmol/mol; "There aren't usually any symptoms if you have prediabetes"; "estimated to affect around one in 12 people". diabetes.org.uk. Accessed 13 October 2026. - NICE, "Thyroid disease: assessment and management", NG145 (measure TSH alone first in suspected primary thyroid dysfunction); Association for Laboratory Medicine, Lab Tests Online UK, "TSH test": a high TSH often means an underactive thyroid and a low TSH can indicate an overactive one. nice.org.uk/guidance/ng145; labtestsonline.org.uk. Accessed 8 October 2026. - British Heart Foundation, "High cholesterol" (updated 16 January 2026): LDL takes cholesterol from the liver to cells and gets stuck to artery walls when there is too much; HDL takes cholesterol you do not need back to the liver. bhf.org.uk. Accessed 8 October 2026. - EASL, EASD and EASO, "Clinical practice guidelines on the management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)", Journal of Hepatology 2024: sustained weight loss of 5% or more to reduce liver fat, 7 to 10% to improve inflammation, 10% or more to improve fibrosis. doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2024.04.031. Accessed 8 October 2026. - British Thyroid Foundation, "Thyroid and weight: the science": in general 5 to 10 pounds of body weight may be attributable to the thyroid, much of it fluid; massive weight gain is rarely associated with hypothyroidism. btf-thyroid.org. Accessed 8 October 2026. - NHS, "High blood pressure (hypertension)" (page last reviewed 19 July 2024): "High blood pressure does not usually cause any symptoms"; "the only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to get your blood pressure checked"; being overweight is listed among the "things that increase your chances of having high blood pressure"; get checked at a pharmacy or GP surgery if "you're aged 40 or over and have not had your blood pressure checked for more than 5 years". nhs.uk/conditions/high-blood-pressure-hypertension. Accessed 27 October 2026. - NHS, "Sleep apnoea" (page last reviewed 11 May 2026): symptoms include "your breathing stopping and starting", "making gasping, snorting or choking noises" and "loud snoring"; "If a GP thinks you might have sleep apnoea, they may refer you to a specialist sleep clinic for tests"; links include "obesity"; "try to lose weight if you're overweight". nhs.uk/conditions/sleep-apnoea. Accessed 27 October 2026. - NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries, "Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome" (last revised November 2025): up to 4% of middle-aged men and 2% of middle-aged women; approximately twice as common in men; underdiagnosis up to 85%. cks.nice.org.uk. Accessed 8 October 2026. - Young T, Peppard PE and Taheri S. "Excess weight and sleep-disordered breathing." Journal of Applied Physiology 2005;99(4):1592 to 1599: about 58% of moderate-or-worse sleep-disordered breathing attributable to a BMI of 25 or more. doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00587.2005. Accessed 8 October 2026. - British Society for Sexual Medicine, "Guidelines on the management of testosterone deficiency in men" (2023 update): diagnosis requires symptoms plus a fasting morning total testosterone sample between 7 and 11 am, repeated with SHBG, LH and FSH when low or borderline. bssm.org.uk (PDF). Accessed 5 October 2026. - Endocrine Society, "Statement on testosterone replacement therapy" (2026): obesity can contribute to functional hypogonadism in men, but low testosterone requires appropriate assessment and has multiple possible causes. endocrine.org. Accessed 3 August 2026. - NHS, "Gout" (page last reviewed 24 August 2023): "sudden severe pain in a joint" that is "usually your big toe"; "It's more common in men, especially as they get older"; being overweight raises the chance; "a test to measure how much uric acid is in your blood"; "try to lose weight if you are overweight, but avoid crash diets". nhs.uk/conditions/gout. Accessed 27 October 2026. - NHS Health Check Online, "Overview of the NHS Health Check Online" (published July 2025, expression-of-interest supporting document): "All users will be offered a blood test to measure their cholesterol levels, which will include total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), and TC:HDL ratio"; "Users deemed to be in the 'high risk' category will also be offered an HbA1c test"; "After a user submits their blood pressure reading"; "the aim is to roll out the NHS Health Check Online more widely from Spring 2026, delivering around 1 million checks in the first 4 years". healthcheck.nhs.uk (PDF). Accessed 27 October 2026. Numbered markers in the page text link to these entries. Statistics describe populations, not any one person’s results. --- This is the plain-text version of the article at https://www.hemed.com/blog/numbers-to-know-before-a-weight-goal, generated from the page on 2026-10-27. It is for information only and is not medical advice. Whether any treatment is right for a person is a clinical decision. Statistics describe populations, not any one person's results.