Your Checklist for Health

---

What can you do to stay healthy and prevent disease? You can get certain screening tests, take preventive medicine if you need it, and practice healthy behaviors.

---

 The most important things you can do to stay healthy are:

·          Get recommended screening tests

·          Be tobacco free.

·          Be physically active.

·          Eat a healthy diet.

·          Stay at a healthy weight.

·          Take preventive medicines if you need them.

Screening Tests for Men: What You Need and When

Screening tests can find diseases early when they are easier to treat. Health experts have made recommendations, based on scientific evidence, about testing for the conditions below. Talk to your doctor about which ones apply to you and when and how often you should be tested.

·          Obesity

Have your body mass index (BMI) calculated to screen for obesity. (BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.)

·          High Cholesterol:

Have your cholesterol checked regularly starting at age 35. If you are younger than 35, talk to your doctor about whether to have your cholesterol checked if:

·          You have diabetes.

·          You have high blood pressure.

·         

Heart disease runs in your family.

·          You smoke.

·          High Blood Pressure:

Have your blood pressure checked at least every 2 years. High blood pressure is 140/90 or higher.

·          Colorectal Cancer:

Have a test for colorectal cancer starting at age 50. Your doctor can help you decide which test is right for you. If you have a family history of colorectal cancer, you may need to be screened earlier.

·          Diabetes:

Have a test for diabetes if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

·          Depression:

Your emotional health is as important as your physical health. If you have felt "down," sad, or hopeless over the last 2 weeks or have felt little interest or pleasure in doing things, you may be depressed. Talk to your doctor about being screened for depression.

·          Sexually Transmitted Infections:

Talk to your doctor to see whether you should be tested for gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, or other sexually transmitted infections.

·          HIV:

Talk to your doctor about HIV screening if you:

·          Have had sex with men since 1975.

·          Have had unprotected sex with multiple partners.

·         

Have used or now use injection drugs.

·          Exchange sex for money or drugs or have sex partners who do.

·         

Have past or present sex partners who are HIV-infected, are bisexual, or use injection drugs.

·          Are being treated for sexually transmitted diseases.

·         

Had a blood transfusion between 1978 and 1985.

·          Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

If you are between the ages of 65 and 75 and have ever smoked (100 or more cigarettes during your lifetime), you need to be screened once for abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is an abnormally large or swollen blood vessel in your abdomen.

Daily Steps to Health

Don't Smoke. If you do smoke, talk to your doctor about quitting. Your doctor or nurse can help you. And, you can also help yourself.

Be Physically Active. Walking briskly, mowing the lawn, dancing, swimming, and bicycling are just a few examples of moderate physical activity. If you are not already physically active, start small and work up to 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity most days of the week.

Eat a Healthy Diet. Emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products; include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and eat foods low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

Stay at a Healthy Weight. Balance calories from foods and beverages with calories you burn off by your activities. To prevent gradual weight gain over time, make small decreases in food and beverage calories and increase physical activity.

Don’t drink Alcohol. If you drink alcohol, have no more than two drinks a day. (A standard drink is one 12-ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.)

Should You Take Medicines to Prevent Disease?

·          Aspirin: Ask your doctor about taking aspirin to prevent heart disease if you are:

·          Older than 45 ·          Younger than 45 and:

o    Have high blood pressure.

o    Have high cholesterol.

o    Have diabetes.

o    Smoke.

·          Immunizations:

Stay up-to-date with your immunizations:

o    Have a flu shot every year starting at age 50. If you are younger than 50, ask your doctor whether you need a flu shot.

o    Have a pneumonia shot once after you turn 65. If you are younger, ask your doctor whether you need a pneumonia shot.

Screening Test Checklist

Take this checklist with you to your doctor's office. Write down when you have any of the tests below. Talk to your doctor about your test results and write them down. Ask when you should have the test next. Write down the month and year. If you think of questions for the doctor, write them down and bring them to your next visit.

Test	Last Test (mo/yr)	Results	Next Test Due (mo/yr)	Questions for the Doctor
Weight (BMI)
Cholesterol Total:
HDL (good):
LDL (bad):
Blood pressure
Colorectal cancer
Diabetes
Sexually transmitted diseases
HIV infection
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (one-time test)