I learned today that if I was a car, I'd probably be a 7 year-old Toyota Camry that needs some preventative repair work fairly soon. Not a brand new Corvette. At least that's the impression I got when I recently took the employee health assessment provided by GSK.
As a pretty "average" 42-year-old guy who doesn't smoke, rarely drinks, and eats tons of veggies, I thought I would literally 'ace' the health exam.
While my blood sugar was great and my hydration level (who knew this could be measured?) was fine, the nurse on site had some serious warnings for me. It turns out my cholesterol is out of whack. My HDL levels are currently so low that I'm at risk for developing heart disease if I don't make some lifestyle changes.
What?? When the nurse I was talking to suggested I exercise more, my immediate reaction was, "But can't I just eat something to raise my HDLs?" Turns out I can eat nuts and other things that can help. But the nurse - grinning because she knew I wouldn't want to hear this - said that for me in particular, I should also work out 30 minutes every day.
Eager to change the subject as quickly as possible, I asked about my weight. "Borderline normal, but your percentage of body fat is getting a little high - you had better exercise." I could see she was going to be tough.
With one last try, I asked about my blood pressure, since it's always been perfect in the past. Alas, the gods were apparently against me that day. Her answer was, "Not bad, but it really could be a little better considering your age - so if you would just exercise..."
Like most guys, I often assume that unless I'm feeling sick, I'm perfectly healthy and don't need to worry about preventative maintenance. And that's really a shame, since I work for a pharmaceutical company that provides a ton of disease education and stresses the importance of people making lifestyle choices to help protect and maintain their health - both in the short term and for the long haul.
So I guess I'm typical in many ways, but sometimes - as I'm learning, when it comes to your health - that's not always such a good thing.
If I were a car, I'd be required to have insurance. Hopefully, insurance that I could afford. It seems to me that auto insurance companies are doing very well, thank you under that scenario. Why couldn't it wok for healthcare insurance as well?