Health Checkup Reference Guide
A free health checkup reference covering 20 common test items — blood pressure, blood sugar, LDL/HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, liver function (AST/ALT/gamma-GTP), kidney function (creatinine/eGFR), uric acid, and more — with reference ranges and what each number means.
| Category | Item | Reference Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body Measurement | BMI (Body Mass Index) | 18.5-24.9 | Calculated as weight (kg) divided by height (m) squared. 25 or above is classed as obese, below 18.5 as underweight. |
| Body Measurement | Waist Circumference | Under 85cm (men) / under 90cm (women) | Measured at navel height. Used to estimate visceral fat accumulation and is one of the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. |
| Blood Pressure | Systolic Blood Pressure | Under 130mmHg | The pressure at the moment the heart contracts and pushes blood out. Higher values place more strain on blood vessels and raise the risk of hypertension and stroke. |
| Blood Pressure | Diastolic Blood Pressure | Under 85mmHg | The pressure while the heart relaxes and refills with blood. Tends to rise as arteriosclerosis progresses. |
| Lipids | LDL Cholesterol | 60-119mg/dL | Often called "bad cholesterol." Builds up in vessel walls and promotes arteriosclerosis, so sustained high values raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. |
| Lipids | HDL Cholesterol | 40mg/dL or above | Often called "good cholesterol." Helps collect excess cholesterol from blood vessels; too low a value raises the risk of arteriosclerosis. |
| Lipids | Triglycerides | 30-149mg/dL | A lipid used as an energy source in the body. It rises easily after eating, so most checkups measure it on an empty stomach. |
| Blood Sugar | Fasting Blood Glucose | 70-99mg/dL | The concentration of glucose in the blood measured while fasting. A basic indicator used to diagnose and monitor diabetes. |
| Blood Sugar | HbA1c (NGSP) | 5.5% or below | Reflects average blood sugar over the past one to two months. Less affected by what you ate right before the test, making it an important supplementary indicator for diagnosing diabetes. |
| Liver Function | AST (GOT) | 30 U/L or below | An enzyme released into the blood when liver or heart muscle cells are damaged. Rises with hepatitis, fatty liver, and similar conditions. |
| Liver Function | ALT (GPT) | 30 U/L or below | An enzyme found mainly in liver cells, more liver-specific than AST. Tends to rise with fatty liver and alcoholic liver damage. |
| Liver Function | Gamma-GTP | 50 U/L or below | An enzyme found in liver and bile duct cells. Reacts sensitively to alcohol intake, so it is also used as a gauge of drinking habits. |
| Kidney Function | Creatinine | 1.00 or below (men) / 0.70 or below (women) mg/dL | A waste product from muscle metabolism that is excreted in urine when the kidneys work normally. Blood levels rise as kidney function declines. |
| Kidney Function | eGFR (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate) | 60 or above mL/min/1.73m² | An estimate of kidney filtering capacity calculated from creatinine, age, and sex. Used to classify the severity of chronic kidney disease (CKD). |
| Other | Uric Acid | 2.1-7.0mg/dL | A byproduct of purine metabolism. Sustained high levels cause crystals to deposit in joints, leading to gout attacks. |
| Blood Count | White Blood Cell Count | 3,100-8,400 /μL | Immune cells that fight bacteria and viruses that enter the body. Often increases with infection or inflammation. |
| Blood Count | Hemoglobin (Hb) | 13.1-16.3 (men) / 12.1-14.5 (women) g/dL | A protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. Low values suggest anemia; too high suggests polycythemia. |
| Blood Count | Platelet Count | 145,000-329,000 /μL | A blood component that clots blood to stop bleeding. Too few platelets make it harder for bleeding to stop. |
| Urinalysis | Urine Protein | Negative (-) | Protein leaks into urine when the kidneys' filtering function is abnormal. A sustained positive result may call for further kidney examination. |
| Urinalysis | Urine Glucose | Negative (-) | Glucose leaks into urine once blood sugar exceeds the kidney's excretion threshold. Used as a screening indicator for diabetes. |
What this health checkup reference does
This page lists the tests that commonly appear on a health checkup report — blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, liver and kidney function, uric acid and others — together with their reference ranges and an explanation of what each value reflects. You can filter by category or test name and read it alongside your own results.
**The first thing worth settling is that a reference range is not "the range every healthy person falls in".** For most tests, the range is derived by measuring people considered healthy and taking the band that holds the middle ninety-five per cent of them. **By construction, then, about one healthy person in twenty falls outside it.** Across twenty tests, someone with nothing wrong will typically pick up one or two flags. A single value slightly outside the range is not, on its own, evidence of disease.
**A reference range is also a different thing from a treatment target or a diagnostic threshold.** The same LDL cholesterol figure is handled differently depending on whether other risk factors are present. The range is a line drawn from the distribution of a population; it does not state what is desirable for a particular person.
**One practical point: values tell you more as a difference from last time than as a snapshot.** A figure that stays inside the range but creeps upward every year is saying something. Be aware, though, that **a change of laboratory or of measurement method shifts the reference range for the same test**, so compare the printed ranges alongside the values. Any conclusion should come from the clinician who reviewed your results.
Reference figures used in this calculation
The figures below are not set by law. They are reference values used as a guide, and the actual amounts differ from provider to provider.
- Reference ranges for the twenty tests on a health checkup report — Estimation formulas from published research (not an official standard) Last checked 2026-09-21
How to use this page
- Filter by category or test name **Typing in the name as printed on your report narrows the table to that row.**
- Compare the range with your value Check that the units match; they vary between facilities.
- Read the explanation column See what part of the body the figure actually reflects.
- Set it beside last year's result **Even inside the range, the year-on-year movement usually says more.**
Tips for getting more out of it
- Reference ranges can vary slightly between labs and measurement methods, so tracking values at the same lab over time makes changes in your health easier to spot.
- Gamma-GTP reacts sensitively to alcohol intake, so abstaining only right before a checkup can produce a number that does not reflect your normal habits.
- LDL cholesterol and triglycerides are easily affected by food, so most checkups draw blood after fasting for 10 hours or more.
- If several items are out of range at once (blood pressure, blood sugar, lipids, waist circumference), be aware of the compounded risk of metabolic syndrome.
- Even values within the reference range are worth mentioning to a doctor if they have shifted a lot from your previous result, even without symptoms.
When this is useful
Looking up unfamiliar abbreviations
**AST, ALT, γ-GTP, eGFR and the rest appear on reports with no explanation attached.**
Receiving a request for a repeat test
It lets you arrive at the appointment knowing what the flagged test measures.
Going through a family member's results
It gives you shared language for the conversation.
Thinking about changes to daily habits
**It indicates which tests respond to diet and exercise and which do not.**
Terms used here
- Reference range
- The band holding the middle ninety-five per cent of healthy people's values. **The remaining five per cent fall outside while perfectly well.**
- Repeat test requested
- A single measurement was not enough to judge by, so the test needs repeating.
- eGFR
- Estimated glomerular filtration rate: an indication of how well the kidneys are clearing waste.
- HbA1c
- A value reflecting average blood glucose over the previous one to two months. **It is largely unaffected by what you ate that day.**
- LDL and HDL
- Two kinds of particle that carry cholesterol. **The same figure is treated differently depending on other risk factors.**
- Risk factor
- Smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and the like. **They change how a reference range should be read.**
Frequently Asked Questions
Side Note — Reference values are not a line between "sick" and "healthy"
Health checkup reference ranges are set statistically from the distribution of test values measured across many healthy people of all ages and sexes, as the range that covers the large majority (generally around 95%) of them. A value outside the range does not automatically mean disease, and a value inside the range does not automatically mean nothing to worry about depending on your constitution and lifestyle. Keeping in mind that it is merely a guide of "where most healthy people fall" changes how you read your results.
In Japan, since employers were required to conduct health checkups under the Industrial Safety and Health Act of 1972, checkup items have been refined through corporate checkups, specific health checkups (the "metabo checkup"), and comprehensive medical checkups. The Specific Health Checkups and Guidance program introduced in 2008 evaluates metabolic syndrome risk centered on waist circumference and BMI, which broadened attention to visceral fat obesity.
Reference values are sometimes revised as measurement methods become more standardized. For example, HbA1c notation was unified to the international NGSP standard in 2012, and differs from the older JDS value by about 0.4%, so simply comparing against older results can introduce error. When comparing results over a long period, it is worth checking whether the measurement method or unit changed.