Living healthier was listed as the top New Year’s resolution for 2024, followed by personal improvement, weight loss, financial stability, regular exercise, smoking cessation, and alcohol reduction. Making a New Year’s resolution is basically setting a goal, and the guideline that is commonly used for goal setting is the acronym SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Setting the goal of living healthier is very broad. To be SMART, living healthier should start with utilizing preventative lifestyle changes and being proactive with health screenings.

Preventative Measures for Better Health

Prevention includes exercise. Get moving! Studies demonstrate that even thirty minutes of moderately vigorous walking three to five times per week can lower the rates of breast and colorectal cancer and lower the risks of heart disease and stroke. Incorporate physical activity into your daily life: play with your children or your dog, dance around the house, and do chores with meaning and movement.

Prevention includes better nutrition. Eliminate sugar and processed foods which are inflammatory and can lead to joint issues, cancers, lung diseases, autoimmune diseases, and heart problems. 

Prevention includes doing away with conditions and habits that lead to health problems, such as asthma flares, cold and flu syndromes, and immune issues. Deep clean your home, clean out closets and storage units, get rid of clutter that attracts dust and mites, and be on the alert for mold. Make sure your smoke detectors are in good working condition. Quit smoking, avoid smoke-filled areas, and reduce alcohol if you are drinking enough to have a negative impact on your health. Manage your medications carefully, and make sure you are taking them according to your provider’s recommendations.  

Prevention includes caring for your mental and emotional health. Treat yourself with kindness going into the new year. Take time to reflect on your emotional well-being. It is good to have accomplishments under the belt, but remember to occasionally give yourself a break. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed at times if you also remember to take a big breath. Mindful practices like meditation, deep breathing, or yoga can help bring calmness into your life. Optimize sleep.

Proactive Measures for Better Health

Being proactive includes making space on your calendar for the health screenings that make healthy living specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Preventative health screening exams are medical tests that help identify the risk of disease before symptoms appear. Regular yearly physical exams are critical for detecting obesity, high blood pressure, and other conditions. Your annual exam is a time to discuss with your doctor the screening tests that are specific to your age and health needs, especially since recommendations and guidelines can be confusing and will vary depending on age, family history, and personal medical history.

People commonly avoid health screenings for a number of different reasons: a fear of the unknown, the time commitment required, a misunderstanding about the value of health screenings, the prohibitive cost of screening tests, and sometimes even laziness or a disbelief that health screenings can make a difference. However, studies have proven that screening for certain conditions and diseases does and can save people’s lives. The following are important health screening that should be considered:

• Blood work detects elevated cholesterol, thyroid problems, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, and blood disorders.

• Cholesterol should be checked starting at age twenty and every two to four years thereafter until age forty, at which time it should be checked yearly.

• Mammograms should start at age forty and continue yearly until age seventy-five, although some organizations recommend every other year from age forty to fifty-four.

• Colonoscopy should start at age forty-five and at minimum, every ten years thereafter and more often if there is a higher personal or family risk.

• Dexascan should be done starting at age sixty-five and every two years thereafter to evaluate bone loss and risk for osteoporotic fractures.

• Pelvic exam should take place yearly for women between ages twenty-one through sixty-five. A pap smear and HPV screening should be scheduled every three years between ages twenty-one through thirty and every three to five years from ages thirty to sixty-five. If you have had a total hysterectomy, a screening is not necessary, but if ovaries are in place, a bimanual exam is still important.

• Hepatitis C screening should be done one time for all adults between ages eighteen through seventy-nine and more often if there is a high risk.

• Prostate exam and PSA test should take place every two years for men ages fifty-five through seventy and annually if the risk is higher.

• Hemoglobin A1C diabetic testing should be included annually for anyone at higher risk and every three to six months for those with known diabetes or prediabetes.

• Eye exams and dental exams should be done annually.

• Vaccinations can be preventative or will at least minimize the course of an illness. Get a flu shot annually, a shingles vaccination at age fifty, and a  pneumonia vaccination at age sixty-five.

What are your goals for 2025? With 82 percent of consumers considering healthier living as a top priority, the wellness industry has become a $500 billion industry in the United States alone. Conventional and alternative medicines are becoming more integrated with a greater focus on holistic health through the use of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and functional medicine as well as personalized nutrition via genetic testing and microbiomes. Gut health is and will continue to be a focal point as science recognizes the gut-brain connection and its importance to mental health, immunity, and chronic diseases.

There will be a surge in the use of probiotics, prebiotics, fermented foods, supplements, and microbiome testing in 2025. Fitness integrated with mental and spiritual elements such as yoga, strength training, and mindfulness techniques will continue to be the craze as people thrive on the social interaction and motivation that gyms offer. Effective weight management solutions will continue to be a priority as new medications are developed and approved. Comprehensive wellness programs in the workplace are necessary to create work-life balance.

There is a quest to enhance human performance and for longevity through healthy aging. There are advancements in technology and health, so stay informed. Do what it takes in 2025 to empower yourself and optimize your health, performance, and life span. Make this your year to live healthier!