| " Not to be too depressing about it, but as Dr. Scott Hansen says, "as soon as we reach our adult stature, we slowly die." Our bodies start to fall apart and run down, which is why we need what Hansen calls "periodic health maintenance."" " "It's much like taking care of a car you treasure," says Hansen, a physician with the Health and Fitness Institute at LDS Hospital. And that means the equivalent of 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000-mile check-ups and oil changes— periodic medical tests and screenings, as well as lifestyle changes, that "will keep you working well and not coughing and sputtering in the later miles."" "Dr. Scott Hansen, with the Health and Fitness Institute at LDS Hospital, will take calls on Saturday." " Hansen and Dr. Ted Adams, co-founder of the institute, will participate Saturday in the Deseret Morning News/Intermountain Healthcare Health Hotline. "Test and Prevention That Can Save Your Life" is the subject of the hotline, from 10 a.m. to noon. All calls are confidential." " "The more you procrastinate this periodic health maintenance and preventive care, the more you place your health in the hands of nature and health-care providers," says Hansen. "So if you want to stay in control of your health, you have to start early."" " A good place to start in your 20s, he says, is by looking at your weight and your waist. The greater your circumference, the more fat is surrounding your heart and other internal organs, and therefore the greater the risk of developing coronary heart disease and diabetes later on. Hansen recommends a waist circumference under 35 inches for women and under 40 inches for men." " The 20s should also include dental check-ups every six months, and a skin exam by a health-care professional as a baseline for exams that
... read the whole article |