MHF backs online health check for over 40s

The MHF is backing the NHS’s new online lifestyle health check for adults over 40. You can get yours right now.

Free, confidential and easy to use, NHS MidLifeCheck is described by the Department of Health as ‘a new innovation in preventative health’. It is designed to help ‘mid-lifers’ positively change their behaviours and improve their quality and length of life.

The site - www.nhs.uk/midlifecheck - guides users through a set of simple multiple choice questions and then provides tailored advice on small steps to improve lifestyles by setting goals and signposting national services for further support. It covers topics including smoking, healthy eating, alcohol, physical activity and emotional wellbeing.

Men's Health Week 2010 is all about getting active - the health check is the perfect place to start.

MHF CEO Peter Baker said: ‘Men are often reluctant to use traditional services like the GP but that does not mean they are not interested in their health. NHS MidLifeCheck is an easy way for men to find out about their health and what they can do to improve it. The flexibility, not having to worry about making an appointment or taking time off work make it just the type of thing the Men’s Health Forum has been calling for.’

NHS MidLifeCheck is the third of the NHS LifeCheck services to go online. NHS Teen LifeCheck has been available since June 2009 and has successfully attracted almost 250,000 visits from teenagers. NHS Baby LifeCheck is aimed at parents and carers of 5-8 month old babies and has had 136,000 visits in the last 6 months.