40. Does being ‘pre-diabetic’ mean you will definitely develop diabetes?

While there are no guarantees, there is plenty of evidence that changing your lifestyle now can drastically reverse the course of your health. For example, the initial result of 2022 study (in English) over 8,700 people demonstrated a strong association between good cardiorespiratory fitness and a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes: the higher the fitness level, the lower the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

41. What is a simple, technology-free way to measure my health?

Relationship between waist and height. Try to make your waist circumference less than half your height.

42. How much should I worry about cancer if I am between 50 and 60 years old?

The median age for cancer diagnosis is 66 years. This means that half of the cases occur in people under the age of 66. These years are especially important to pay attention to cervical cancer (mean age at diagnosis: 50) and breast cancer (mean age at diagnosis: 63). The good news is that the cancer death rate has fallen by about 32% since 1992, and the overall five-year survival rate is 68%.

43. If there is a case of cancer in my family, do I need to be screened regularly?

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for several types of cancer, including breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancer. There is evidence that screening tests can identify these cancers early and make a difference in treatment and survival.

44. And in the case of prostate cancer? Should I have a PSA test?

Yes, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, apart from skin cancer, and 40% of cases occur in men under the age of 65. However, almost 99% of cases are treatable if detected early. And don’t worry if your PSA increases. Most men who have a high PSA do not have cancer, and only 25% of prostate biopsies reveal cancer, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

45. My mother was legally blind when she died. How can I protect my eyesight?

See your eye doctor once a year for a dilated eye exam, says Kenneth Dickerson, an ophthalmologist at the University of Rochester’s Flaum Eye Institute. Most eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, are silent stealers of vision. Without a checkup by a doctor, you don’t know you have a problem until it’s advanced.

46. ​​Speaking of the senses, what can I do to deal with my annoying tinnitus?

There is no official treatment. However, ask your doctor about neuromodulation, in which the device simultaneously sends electrical stimulation to the tongue and auditory signals to both ears. A 2020 study found that this type of therapy reduced tinnitus symptoms over a 12-week period.