Health Fair

The corporate health fair was held in my workplace today. In addition to the various vendors hawking their wares, a variety of health screens were offered. These screens included blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and body fat. As heart disease claims its top spot as the number one killer in the world, these screens are very appropriate. Obviously most of could stand to lose a few pounds, eat better and exercise more regularly. For some people keeping score with health screen results are an incredible motivator to either do better or not do worse.

As I am well entrenched in my late thirties, I have found myself moving from the normal range to the “pre-“ range or “moderate risk” range. While this is certainly better than the high risk categories, it emphasizes that lifestyle choices which were compatible with a twenty something body are not compatible with a thirty something body and will be extremely detrimental to a forty something body.

My recent experience shows me that doctors are striving for conservative treatment and are no longer freely dispensing medications. I feel this is a disservice. While beginning a lifelong medication regime is not a fun thing to do, it could add years to a person’s life. Individuals like me who are pre-diabetic or pre-hypertensive or are at moderate risk for a cardiac event based on my cholesterol profile are just playing a waiting game until it is time to begin treatment. I do not want to shy away from my responsibility of losing 15 pounds and starting a 2300 calorie diet with only 25% of calories coming from fat. I have also started exercising and my ankle has held up fairly well. I do however want to have all the tools at my disposal in play.