Why You Should Get a Health Check In Your 30s
A health check with a general practitioner gives you valuable, data-driven insight into your own health, based on a range of tests. You can see the full list of tests on the Health Checks page.
We are seeing many patients who realise that their 30s are an ideal time to really start prioritising their health. Traditionally, patients might put off seeing a doctor unless they have a specific illness, whereas a health check gives patients peace of mind with a thorough check up. This is a great decade to consider health checks for a number of reasons:
You want to be more proactive about your health
In your 30s, you can take steps which will help your health for the decades to come. You might be juggling career and family, managing teams and a busy schedule.
If you’re interested in being more proactive, a health check is a great way to identify health concerns early. This might mean you can identify something like insulin resistance, low iron or cardiovascular risks while they are reversible.
You’re feeling worn out from managing work/life balance
Your 30s can be the time when you really feel the compounded strain of full time work. You might have been working full time since you were 18, or when you finished university. Lack of sleep, stress and overwork can start to catch up to you, and you might notice you have less energy than you did in your 20s.
It might be simple to overlook as simply having a busy life, however a health check will uncover if there’s any medical reasons. It could be a whole range of reasons from metabolic to thyroid imbalances. Having a health check will give you the peace of mind from having a wide range of tests carried out.
You need to look into your family medical history
You might not know much about your family medical history so it’s useful to ask these questions of our relatives to help understand any potential genetic risk factors. As part of your health check, we review your family history.
The kinds of questions to ask your relatives include:
Has anyone in our family suffered a heart attack or stroke, and what age were they?
Has anyone in our family suffered from cancer, and what type?
Does anyone in our family have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or chronic kidney disease?
Does anyone in our family have any chronic illnesses?
You want to protect your most valuable asset, your health
We think of assets like our home that we protect with insurance. However our health is actually our most valuable asset and there are proactive steps we can take to protect it. Without our health, time with our family becomes harder and our jobs might be impossible to carry out.
By choosing a health check, you’re choosing a positive health pathway rather than reactive responses. You’re protecting your future health by investing in this step early.
We offer two options for Health Checks - our Core Health Check or an Enhanced Health Check. You can learn more about these on our Health Check page and book at a time and date that suits you.
Written by Dr Colin Johnston, Medical Director of The Heriot Clinic Edinburgh. Dr Johnston has over 20 years clinical experience as a doctor, with over 16 years as a General Practitioner. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh (MBChB) in 2005 and obtained his Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) in 2010. He established The Heriot Clinic to pioneer a premium standard of care, offering extended appointments and absolute continuity of care.
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