Proactivity is key to women’s health. Each age bracket poses new age-related, health-specific concerns, making it important for women to stay on top of their health needs throughout the decades.
Each year, women should schedule a well-woman visit as a preventive checkup. This doctor visit will help evaluate how you’re doing, what goals you want to reach, and changes you’d like to make. Monitoring your health will keep surprises at a minimum and health at a maximum.
Here’s what women of every age should be looking for:
Take charge at Twenty
- Establish a doctor-patient relationship: It’s time to escape from under Mom and Dad’s wing and schedule annual checkups with a doctor of your choosing. These physicals can catch problems early
- Make health a habit: The health habits you form in your 20s are likely to stick with you throughout your life
- Got milk? Reduce your chances of osteoporosis by taking in at least 1,200 mg of calcium and 1,000 IU of vitamin D every day to ensure good bone health
Make time at Thirty
- Maintain a healthy weight: Metabolism begins to slow in your mid-30s. With more to juggle, many women in their 30s experience weight issues for the first time. Find ways to add exercise to your schedule when possible and eat healthy
- Bedtime isn’t just for the kids: Getting enough sleep is vital to good health. Let your doctor know if you’re having difficulty sleeping
- Heart your health: Have your doctor take your blood pressure during regular checkups to monitor hypertension and heart health, and test periodically for diabetes, thyroid disease, and skin cancer
Fitness at Forty
- Just keep moving: Fit in 20 to 30 minutes of daily exercise to maintain your weight. Up your workouts to an hour if you’re hoping to shed a few pounds. Preserve muscle mass and bone density by doing weight-bearing exercises and strength training
- Calories aren’t your friend: Your metabolism decreases in your 40s, which could lead to unexpected weight gain even while maintaining a regular diet. Manage your portions by eating smaller, more frequent meals
- Don’t doubt diabetes: Women are often diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in their 40s. Have your doctor screen you for diabetes every three years
Fifty and Forward
- Happy heart, happy health: Women’s risk of heart disease rises in their 50s; following menopause, estrogen no longer protects you the way it used to
- Catch colon cancer: Colon cancer is often preventable if caught in the precancerous stage. Schedule a colonoscopy with your physician
- Fight the flu: Getting vaccinated will help you better fight serious side effects from flu