Preventative healthcare has an image problem.
When we think about things like health screenings – whether that means checking blood pressure, glucose or cholesterol levels – we often think of them in the context of middle age.
In other words, you only need to worry about these things when you’re older and things start to go wrong, but while you’re young and healthy, you can just ignore them altogether. But the reality is that the health habits and patterns you establish in your younger years will have a significant impact on what happens in your forties, fifties and beyond. In honour of Youth Month this June, here’s what you need to know.
Patterns form early
Conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and several common cancers don’t appear overnight. Rather, they develop slowly over many years and may start with small markers like a slightly elevated blood pressure, borderline blood sugar levels, or cholesterol that builds up slowly without any symptoms at all. Serious conditions that present themselves when people are 50 or 60 often start when they’re in their twenties in a body that feels completely fine.
The irony is that the earlier these issues are identified, the easier they are to reverse. A 25-year-old with slightly elevated glucose and a rising BMI, for example, can change their trajectory fairly easily through simple adjustments to diet, movement and lifestyle. A 52-year-old with the same issues and decades of unchecked progression faces a much harder road to turn things around. Early action isn’t just easier – it’s also far more effective.
Stress and the link to mental health
While being younger means we’re relatively carefree without the responsibility of children or a high pressure career, young adulthood can still be one of the most stressful times in life, particularly in South Africa. Financial pressure, unemployment, housing insecurity and relentless social comparison driven by social media can all contribute to background stress and mental health challenges that can have significant physical effects. For example, stress elevates cortisol levels that, over time, affect everything from your immune function and sleep quality to cardiovascular health, weight regulation, and gut health.
In this way, mental health is inextricably linked to physical health. Young people who are chronically stressed with poor sleep habits and low emotional resilience may be putting their physical health at risk even if every blood test comes back normal. Paying attention to your mental well-being and finding ways to manage your stress, moods, and sleep are key to ensuring you stay physically healthy in later decades.
What do good habits in your twenties look like?
Instilling good health habits while you’re young doesn’t have to be complicated. Include regular movement of some kind in your weekly routine, whether that’s regular gym sessions, hiking on weekends or even joining a friend for a group fitness class, a run or a bike ride. Include fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet and limit processed foods and sugar to avoid inflammation and keep your blood sugar levels stable. Limit alcohol, get enough sleep and limit your screen time in the evenings, and manage your stress by hanging out with friends, doing a hobby you love, or spending time in nature.
These measures aren’t anything new, but the benefits of getting them right in your twenties will have a compound effect as you get older. Above all, you’ll have ingrained habits that are easier to stick to even as life becomes busier and more complicated.
Knowing your numbers is the starting point
Getting a baseline health picture is about much more than finding things wrong with you. It’s about understanding where you are so that you can track your progress and catch anything unusual before it becomes a problem. After all, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. A basic wellness screening covering blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and BMI checks takes less time than you’d expect and gives genuinely useful information for the years ahead.
Getting rewarded for taking care of yourself
If you belong to a medical aid, there’s also the possibility of external rewards for being proactive about your health in this way. If you’re a Fedhealth member, for example, you can take advantage of their D2D+ benefit. By completing a Health Risk Assessment at a pharmacy or GP and registering on the Fedhealth Member App, you can unlock up to R4 500 in extra benefits per family for day-to-day medical expenses. This is a great example of what preventative healthcare looks like: it involves a tangible future benefit for doing something useful today.
Start now, not later
If you’re young and healthy, this Youth Month is a good time to start reframing the way you view proactive health. Rather than it being something for older people to worry about, instilling healthy habits in your life now means you’ll be more likely to reap the benefits in future in terms of being vital and fit in your 40s and 50s. Taking this approach isn’t being cautious – it’s being strategic. After all, the version of you at 55 will be shaped by the small decisions you’re making right now that compound over time.
