I recently had my annual physical, which was really my annual blood analysis. The nurse practitioner (NP) who conducted the check-up barely examined me physically. What she mostly did was review the data from a laboratory’s analysis of my blood. I had given the lab a sample of my blood a week earlier, and when I sat down with the NP, I was hoping to find out that I am the healthiest human alive. But unfortunately for me, I do not have the president’s doctor.
Diabetes runs in my family, and for the last few years, I’ve had prediabetes. That means that my blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Having prediabetes is like being called to the principal’s office, sitting in the waiting room, and trying your best to avoid going in by hiding behind the large plastic plant.
Because I’m at high risk for diabetes, I try to exercise regularly and step on the scale every time I go to the gym, making sure my weight hasn’t increased beyond the acceptable rate of inflation. But what I really need to do is control my intake of sugar and other simple carbohydrates. That’s much harder to do, because it requires willpower. And if my blood analysis were more sophisticated, it would show very low levels of willpower.
Aside from indicating that I’m still prediabetic, my annual physical uncovered another area of concern: prehypertension. The NP took my blood pressure and found that it’s higher than normal, but not high enough to require medication. She told me that I needed to make some lifestyle changes. This really puzzled me. To have a lifestyle, don’t you need a little style in your life?
NP: “Everyone has a lifestyle. It’s the way that you live.”
Me: “So you want me to change the way that I live? I like living in shorts and T-shirts.”
NP: “No, this is not about clothes. What you wear has nothing to do with hypertension.”
Me: “You don’t think that men who wear suits are more prone to high blood pressure than men who wear shorts?”
NP: “It depends on how much exercise they’re getting in those suits.”
Among the lifestyle changes I need to make is reducing the amount of salt I consume. As you can imagine, the idea of reducing both salt and sugar in my diet is not too appealing. Perhaps I can handle some sort of compromise: no salt on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; no sugar on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “What about weekends?” you may ask. Well, on weekends, I will make up for the weekdays. As I mentioned, I suffer from low willpower.
The World Health Organization recommends several lifestyle modifications that can help reduce high blood pressure. Among them: eating more vegetables and fruits; sitting less; being more physically active; and losing weight if you’re overweight or obese. (Please don’t lose weight if you’re slim. This can be dangerous. There are too many cracks in the pavement. This is why there are so many missing people.)
According to the WHO, 1.4 billion adults aged 30 to 79 worldwide had hypertension in 2024. That represents one-third of the population in that age range. What’s particularly concerning is that 600 million adults with hypertension (44%) do not know they have the condition. I didn’t know either—until I had my annual check-up.
Knowing you have something is better than not knowing, especially if you can do something about it. Catching a disease or health condition in its early stages can make a huge difference in your ability to beat it. So if you’ve been postponing a check-up, please go ahead and schedule it, even if it’s against your lifestyle to see a doctor.
