Britons don’t start taking their health seriously until the age of 38 — and often only after a scare, according to research.

The study of 2,000 adults found starting to have new aches and pains or reaching a milestone birthday were also among the triggers that encouraged them to take better care of themselves.

Others were prompted into action after a loved one passed away or experienced a health issue.

Respondents were asked at what age they first started to take their health seriously — the average response was 38 years old.

The study of 2,000 adults found starting to have new aches and pains or reaching a milestone birthday were also among the triggers that encouraged them to take better care of themselves. Others were prompted into action after a loved one passed away or experienced a health issue

The study of 2,000 adults found starting to have new aches and pains or reaching a milestone birthday were also among the triggers that encouraged them to take better care of themselves. Others were prompted into action after a loved one passed away or experienced a health issue

They were then asked what it was that made them start to take their health more seriously at this age with having a health scare one of the top reasons (23 per cent), along with starting to have new aches and pains (28 per cent) and feeling physically unfit (28 per cent).

Celebrities also play a part in making people take better care of their health, with around one in 30 saying a famous person suffering a medical problem forced them to take things more seriously.

Following the announcement that King Charles is undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate, the NHS website’s page about the condition received 11 times more visits than the previous day — resulting in one person visiting the site every five seconds.

The OnePoll study, commissioned by Bupa, found 11 per cent of adults admit they don’t take their health very seriously.

Nearly half (45 per cent) didn’t take much notice at a younger age as they felt broadly fine, while 36 per cent simply felt they were too young to need to worry about it — and 25 per cent felt that nothing bad would happen to them.

In hindsight, 84 per cent feel they took their health for granted when they were younger, and 39 per cent regret not taking more care of their health before they reached their mid-twenties.

Celebrities also play a part in making people take better care of their health, with around one in 30 saying a famous person suffering a medical problem forced them to take things more seriously. Following the announcement that King Charles is undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate, the NHS website's page about the condition received 11 times more visits than the previous day ¿ resulting in one person visiting the site every five seconds

Celebrities also play a part in making people take better care of their health, with around one in 30 saying a famous person suffering a medical problem forced them to take things more seriously. Following the announcement that King Charles is undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate, the NHS website’s page about the condition received 11 times more visits than the previous day — resulting in one person visiting the site every five seconds

Nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) admitted their younger years saw them follow a poor diet, while 30 per cent claim they drank too much alcohol and 28 per cent felt they let stress get to them too much.

However, 30 per cent have been asked by someone else to take more care of their health, including their partner (39 per cent), a parent (33 per cent) or a medical professional (30 per cent).

As a result, 45 per cent now try to get enough sleep, 43 per cent drink more water and 34 per cent try to reduce stress to look after their health.

The study also found 21 per cent are currently unhappy with the state of their physical health, while 32 per cent aren’t happy with their fitness levels.

Dr Elizabeth Rogers, associate clinical director at Bupa Health Clinics, which offer preventative health checks, said: ‘It can be very easy to disregard your health – particularly when you are young or you feel that everything is ok.

‘No-one wants to think that there might be something wrong, but often the early signs of an issue are not obvious.

‘Sometimes it can take a bit of a wake-up call before you start taking your health more seriously, whether that is falling ill yourself or seeing a loved one or even a well-known person experience an issue.’

She added: ‘There’s no one-size fits all approach when it comes to health and making even small changes to your exercise regime or diet can make a real difference to both your physical and mental health, as well as helping to prevent future conditions developing.’

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