Forget about those expensive private health check offers that arrive in your letterbox or email: the British Association of General Practitioners warns that “they could do more harm than good”.
Not only are these health MOTs stressful for patients, but they may also encourage unnecessary follow-up tests by GPs.
If you're over 40, you can get a free NHS health check every five years to check your risk of heart disease, stroke and other serious health conditions, and the potential impact of unhealthy habits such as smoking, excessive drinking and lack of exercise.
The test takes about 20-30 minutes and includes measuring your height, weight, waist size, blood pressure, cholesterol, and may also involve a finger prick blood test to check your blood sugar level.
Your answers and test results will be used to calculate your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes or kidney disease over the next 10 years, and how you can reduce that risk.
There are also lots of simple tests you can do at home and pharmacies such as Boots even offer free street health MOTs, which can give vital clues about your health and risk of a range of problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and falls.
“There are lots of free tests available that can give you good information about your health,” says Dr Sarah Jarvis, visiting professor of general practice at the University of Huddersfield.
So how can you check your health status?
Wasted time
“BMI (body mass index) tells you whether you're a healthy weight for your height. It can be misleading if you're more muscular, but for most people it's a pretty good indicator of health,” says Dr Jarvis.
But waist size tells us the amount of abdominal fat we have, which is a bigger factor in our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and something even more important.
To measure your waist, find the midpoint between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips. Dr Jarvis says: “This will usually coincide with your belly button, but if you're overweight, your belly button may be lower. Breathe out and measure at the fullest point – there's no point inhaling and fooling yourself.”
For men of South Asian and Afro-Caribbean descent, a waist size of 35 inches or more increases the risk. For other men, it's 37 inches. For women, regardless of origin, a waist size over 31.5 inches increases the chance of developing health problems.
String Time
Waist to height ratio is another good health test. An easy way to check this is to cut or mark a string to measure your height, fold it in half and try to wrap the folded string around your waist. If the string does not fit, you have excess belly fat. For a more accurate check, measure both and divide your waist circumference by your height.
Anything between 0.5 and 0.59 indicates excess abdominal fat and increased risk of health problems.
A ratio of 0.6 increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and other problems. Losing weight and increasing your activity level can help reduce your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems.
Allow it
How long can you stand on one leg?
Studies have shown that people over 50 who can maintain their balance for less than 10 seconds are 84 percent more likely to die within the next 10 years than those who can maintain their balance for more than 10 seconds.
Dr Jarvis warns: “One in two women and one in five men will suffer a fracture due to osteoporosis, and standing on one leg is a very good test of that risk.”
Exercises that improve balance improve overall health and mobility, and reduce the risk of falls.”
Pressure points
Blood pressure rises as we age, and so does the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and some types of dementia. There are no warning signs that you have high blood pressure, so it's wise to get regular checks.
Many GP practices have pods where you can check your blood pressure reading, and some local pharmacies offer free blood pressure testing. If you have a family history of high blood pressure, you may want to check your readings more regularly; the British Heart Foundation sells cheap, accurate monitors that can be used at home.
When someone else tests you, your blood pressure may be slightly higher — a phenomenon known as white coat hypertension.
So, if your blood pressure readings measured at your doctor's office or pharmacy average 140/90 or above, or if your blood pressure readings measured at home average 135/85 or above, you are classified as having high blood pressure.
Simple ways to lower your blood pressure include limiting your intake of alcohol and salt and increasing your exercise.
The Stroke Association advises that eating one more serving of fruit or vegetables can reduce your risk of stroke by 10 percent. Potassium-rich foods such as bananas, spinach, oranges and tomato juice also help maintain healthy blood pressure.
Listen, listen
Take advantage of free street hearing tests or try the Royal Institute of Deaf people's online hearing test, as studies have shown that hearing loss, especially in the absence of hearing aids, is associated with dementia.
A study of more than 500,000 people published earlier this year found that hearing loss increases the risk of dementia by 20 percent, but that wearing hearing aids could reduce the risk to 6 percent.
Previous studies have found even stronger associations, finding that mild hearing loss doubles the risk of dementia, moderate hearing loss triples the chance of having the problem, and severe hearing loss makes someone five times more likely to develop dementia.
Shake it
How strong is your handshake? Numerous studies have shown that the strength of your handshake provides clues about your nutritional status and overall health.
Scientists at Queen Mary University Hospital in London have found that a weak grip could be a sign of a weaker heart, meaning it's less efficient at pumping blood around the body.
Scans showed that this was also a sign of heart damage. “Improved grip strength is associated with healthier cardiac structure and function,” said lead researcher Professor Stephen Petersen. Grip strength declines with age, and a large Canadian study showed that every 5 kg (11 lbs) decrease in grip strength was associated with a 17% increased risk of fatal heart disease and a 9% increased risk of stroke. This could be due to muscle loss caused by arteriosclerosis, or the gradual loss of muscle mass that occurs with age, known as sarcopenia.
The good news is that any exercise, especially resistance exercise, can help combat sarcopenia and reduce the risk of heart disease and falls. The British Heart Foundation website offers an example of how to exercise with resistance bands:
About the scent
COVID-19 has caused chaos, and while it's not uncommon to lose your sense of smell when you have a cold or hay fever, a growing body of research has shown a link between a sudden decline in the ability to identify common odors and an increased risk of dementia.
Smell can often bring back memories in a flash, and scientists at the University of Chicago have found a link between loss of smell and a reduction in grey matter in parts of the brain responsible for memory and smell.
Professor Jayanto Pinto says: “The rapid decline in smell is a very good indicator of what is happening structurally in certain areas of the brain.”
A Chinese study has confirmed that the ability to identify the smell of peppermint may be as important in identifying people at high risk of dementia as it is for vascular disease.
Aroma therapy is now being used in some nursing homes, and a small American study found that older people who used diffusers to diffuse a range of strong scents at bedtime saw their scores on learning and memory tests improve by 226 percent over six months.
The scents used in the study were rose, orange, eucalyptus, lemon, peppermint, rosemary, and lavender.