Our health is, arguably, our most valuable possession - and we all need to look after it.
Our GPs are our first line of defence when things do go wrong, but there's no substitute for active prevention of illness, and only we can do this effectively. This means adopting a sensible and healthy lifestyle, and making frequent checks, many of which we can do ourselves.
Having experienced routine GP health checks myself in the recent past, it occurred to me that it might be useful to produce an easy-to-use health checker, designed to advise others how to carry out their own health-related tests, and interpret the results.
Many of the tests described can be done at home with inexpensive equipment. Other more complex tests, such as blood tests normally done at clinics or GP surgeries, should be available to you (although you my need to ask for them).
Check them out and see if you're really as healthy as you think....
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First, some background on health issues to put things in context.
Heart disease and stroke are two of the major causes of death in the UK population.
Maintaining healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and lipid levels, and a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI), is crucial to avoid these modern-day scourges, particularly later in life. Controlling your blood glucose levels is also important - Type 2 Diabetes has increased alarmingly in recent years, and is often linked to obesity. Our highly-processed modern Western diet, which is high in fat and carbohydrate, and our increasingly sedentary and exercise-poor lifestyles, both serve to increase the risk to health. Why ?
Millions of years of evolution has optimised our physiology and metabolism for a low fat, high roughage diet and an active lifestyle. This is because our ancestors were faced with a restricted diet at best, with recurrent bouts of starvation when times were really lean. Those who could hunt and make best use of what little food was available were the ones who survived to reproduce - the others simply didn't.
Hence evolution favoured those who were best able to chase their prey, were able to survive the frequent 'lean' times and who had the appetite to consume as much as possible when their hunts were successful. It was also vital for them to be able to escape any predators themselves. This has left many of us us with a legacy of a strong appetite, a low resting metabolic rate, and a need to exercise regularly - all of which are completely out of tune with the way modern society and its commercialism now encourage us to live.
As a result, our largely sedentary 21st century existence, lack of the incentive to exercise, and a high intake of heavily-processed and calorie-rich food, sets up an imbalance between energy input and output. It can also compromise our gut health through lack of 'roughage' in the diet. Our busy lifestyle also often mitigates against getting enough exercise to burn off the excess calories we consume.
Why can't we just adopt a 'healthier ' diet, and eat less ? , you may ask.
Sadly, such a diet, rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, is usually a more expensive option and is now simply beyond the means of some of the poorest in our society, where the UK's obesity epidemic is the most prevalent. The food industry has hitherto promoted 'fast' foods high in carbohydrate & fat and these tend to be cheaper and more readily available than healthier alternatives. Although there are some signs of change, this is a slow process, and hasn't been helped by the cost of living crisis.
Another problem is that hypertension, atherosclerosis and obesity are 'silent' killers, since they are often asymptomatic until a life-threatening problem occurs. And they affect all levels of society - no one is immune. Even if you do notice you're starting to feel 'a bit less healthy', the temptation is to carry on and adjust - males are particularly resistant to consulting their GPs, and often use the excuse of difficulty of getting an appointment , and the desire 'not to bother them' to avoid it.
There's no doubt that early diagnosis of any abnormalities that appear will pay dividends in later life, and continued monitoring will help ensure the advantage is maintained in later years, and is likely to prolong 'good quality' life.
This does mean putting some effort into monitoring, of course, and a lot can be done by the individual to assess and improve their own health.
This is 'self-assessment' process is particularly important at a time when the UK health service is under severe strain, with both GP and dental appointments 'like gold dust' and often only available many months after you really need them. The NHS is now actively promoting 'self help' and GP practices are introducing more 'holistic' medical strategies to encourage this, in an attempt to reduce GP workloads and improve outcomes.
You can help maintain good health by generating your own blood pressure, heart rate and BMI readings at home. You can do this easily and with a minimum of equipment; cholesterol and blood glucose testing is widely available in pharmacies and is often included in routine GP health screens, particularly in the older age groups. By monitoring all these key health parameters, and acting on them where necessary, you can do much to reduce your risk of poor-quality life in old age and prevent a premature death.
Childhood obesity is a particular worry just now, since it has already reached near epidemic proportions in UK, and spells trouble ahead for tomorrow's adults. Bad dietary habits are most easily established (and broken!) in early childhood. If you are a parent, check out your child's status now - it may save them (and you !) from much angst in later life.
Download the Health Checker (Health_Check.xlsx) to find out how best to generate and interpret your data. The assessments and recommendations are based on current NHS guidelines, and links to these and a BMI calculator designed specifically for children are provided within the workbook. Apart from the links I've provided to NHS web pages, the calculator is entirely offline and your data is therefore kept confidential.
Always consult your GP if you have concerns about any of the results, and before considering any self-treatment.