| Each year thousands of Americans automatically book in for their annual 'physical'. The very | ||
| rich may indulge in a week-long investigation of every organ and orifice at a luxury clinic, while | ||
| at street level there are do-it-yourself blood-pressure measuring machines in drug stores and | ||
| airport lounges. The contrast between this and what happens in Britain could scarcely be more | ||
| 5 | striking. In Britain check-ups are a rarity, with many doctors reluctant to take on extra work, even | |
| the simple act of checking blood pressures. | ||
| Health check-ups originated in the United States partly because of the consumer's wish to catch | ||
| an illness early and avoid large medical bills in the future . Now they also slot in neatly with the | ||
| obsession with personal health. | ||
| 10 | 'Hi honey. How was your physical today?' | |
| 'Okay, but I'm sure going to have to quit smoking,' replies the husband in a 'smoking cessation' | ||
| commercial. | ||
| Prevention of illness and cutting the cost of medical bills are the aims of the latest American | ||
| scheme which attempts to translate executive-style health check-ups into a fast computer check-up | ||
| 15 | for office and factory workers. | |
| The Staywell system, which has been developed by the Life Extension Institute comes up with a | ||
| 'health age' assessment. According to your birth certificate you may be aged 40, but according to | ||
| the computer, stocked with medical details on thousands of people, you may be nearer 50 years of | ||
| age in terms of health risks. If you are lucky or prudent, your health age may be less than your | ||
| 20 | actual age. This assessment is accompanied by an advice, based on tests for such things as blood | |
| pressure, weight and blood-fat levels, and a lengthy questionnaire about health habits, lifestyle, | ||
| depressions, anxieties and so on. A year later the computer check is repeated to see if you have | ||
| lost or gained health age. | ||
| Research does not show exactly why relatively fewer Americans than Britons die of heart | ||
| 25 | disease. But it is thought that less smoking among men, more exercise, improved diet, lower blood | |
| pressure and, not least, the persistent checking must play a part. | ||
| Not that the United States is without controversy about check-ups. Doctors are increasingly | ||
| critical of the need for an annual physical. Already the Academy of Family Physicians and the | ||
| American College of Physicians deem it unnecessary - and expensive at an average of £ 50 to | ||
| 30 | £ 100 a time - though there are also many doctors who are reluctant to lose their annual bread and | |
| butter. | ||
| 'Check-ups might be unnecessary,' argues Dr Costin of Staywell, 'if everyone knew when they | ||
| were at high risk of illness, or even when they had a symptom. But one person's scarcely noticed | ||
| and unreported pain may be another's high priority symptom. Both could require urgent treatment.' | ||
| 35 | Many American practices eventually cross the Atlantic, though in modified form. British | |
| companies may feel reluctant to extend health checks to the shop floor. Yet trade unions are | ||
| beginning to examine the value of check-ups for members, who are often struck down with illness | ||
| in the prime of working life, and it is likely that these managements will come under increasing | ||
| pressure to consider the introduction of workers' checks. | ||
| The Observer, February 28, 1982 |