Health

Having experienced routine GP health checks myself, it occurred to me that it might be useful to produce an easy-to-use checker designed to help others to  interpret their own health-related test results. 

Many of the tests described can be done at home with inexpensive equipment. Others, such as blood tests 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....

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 avoiding falling victim to these modern-day scourges, particularly later in life. 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. 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 was available were the ones who survived to reproduce - the others 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 food, sets up an imbalance between energy input and output, and 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. 

What about a 'healthier ' diet ?  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.

Early diagnosis of any abnormalities 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. 

A lot can be done by the individual to monitor and improve their own health. This 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 many months in the future. 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.

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, 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 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 to 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, before considering any self-treatment.