Health screening starts at birth, before an infant leaves the hospital. The infant screenings reveal metabolic and inherited disorders that might not otherwise be diagnosed until the damage to health occurs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends screening children for lead levels. Elevated lead levels can cause behavioral and developmental problems and eliminating lead improves fitness. Throughout your lifetime, preventative screening procedures can improve your fitness and quality of life.
Health Screening
Health screenings detect those who have a high chance of developing certain diseases. Those who have no symptoms receive screening tests with the idea that early treatment gives the best chance for successful treatment. The time for a screening test occurs when you feel fit and healthy and don't think you need a doctor. A positive result on a screening test does not necessarily mean that you have the disease, only that you may require further testing.
Criteria for Screening Tests
A good screening test looks for diseases that have irreversible consequences to fitness if not treated. The disease being tested for should respond to early treatment. If early treatment makes no difference, the feasibility of the screening test needs questioning. A screening test should target a problem commonly found in the population to uncover as many opportunities as possible to prevent serious disease. Accurate and inexpensive testing becomes important when screening for disease in a large part of the population. Unpleasant or dangerous testing procedures can become counterproductive to fitness and well being.
Common Screening Tests
Screening tests commonly recommended for women and men consist of weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. These measures show ways to improve fitness, such as prescribing medication to lower blood pressure. Additional tests for women are a pap smear to screen for cervical cancer and mammogram to detect breast cancer. For men, testing for prostate cancer helps with early diagnosis.
Screening tests for children include height and weight to measure development. An important part of childhood fitness begins with immunization against diseases that can have long-term consequences such as, measles and mumps.
Keeping Healthy and Fit
Your doctor may recommend additional testing depending on your family history. Additional measures that increase fitness and health should be used in conjunction with health screening procedures. Exercise, eat healthy, don't smoke, don't use illegal drugs and schedule any tests your doctor suggests are all factors that can contribute to a lifetime of fitness.
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