The health guru behind the Fast 800 eating plan has revealed three tests that everyone over the age of 45 should take. The simple tests could help assess your overall health and give you a glimpse into the future.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Dr Michael Mosley also noted that looking at your parents could be another good indicator of where your health might go. Dr Mosley’s dad developed type 2 diabetes in his fifties, and sadly ended up dying of complications from the condition at the age of 74.
Greg James, host of the show, asked him: “You said in an interview, I think, that you were looking at your future when you found this out about your dad. How did you feel about that? And did it take a while to process?”
Dr Mosley replied: “It took a while to process in a way. You know, if you’re looking at your future health, one good way is to look at your parents. You can go and have genetic tests done. There’s all sorts of predictive stuff out there.”
To gain more insight into your future health, the doctor recommended getting three things tested – your blood sugar, blood pressure and your waist. The doctor said: “I would urge anyone who is in their middle age to have, for example, their blood pressure measured. Blood sugar [test] is also quite a good thing.
“And measure your waist because your waist is one of your best predictors of how healthy you are.” To check your waist, the health guru recommended doing the so-called “string test”.
Dr Mosley said: “You take a bit of string, measure it to your height, fold it in half. Does it fit around your tummy? If it doesn’t then you might want to do something about it.”
The doctor revealed that his dad was “significantly overweight”, claiming that this was one of “the big drivers” behind his type 2 diabetes.
He added: “But that actually informed my view… about what I wanted to do with my life because I wanted to sort my own health out. But I also wanted to kind of spread the word, and that’s kind of what I’ve been banging on about ever since.”
