Ruth Campbell visits a new health club for a full body health MoT.

I HAVE reached an age when I feel as if my body is beginning to fall apart.

There are aches and pains where I’ve never had them before, as well as the odd malfunction.

Having had five children, my energy levels are not what they were. In the evenings, I’m ready to go to bed by about 9pm and I drink far too much tea and coffee during the day to keep me going.

So I had mixed feelings about having a full body health MoT – including checks on blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body mass index (BMI), aerobic fitness, resting heart rate and glucose levels.

The pioneering new health club which offers this service free to all members twice a year even offered me a 12- page print-out on the state of my health at the end of it.

Of course, it can only be a good thing to be offered this information. But it’s also a bit scary.

Harrogate’s Fitness and Wellbeing Centre manager Ceri Morgan recognised my reticence.

He said: “It’s a case of ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

Younger people tend to think ‘I am OK’, but it’s free and the majority of people do it. It makes a real difference to the way our clients take care of themselves. People can start to take their health and wellbeing into their own hands.

“The first step is to have a health assessment to see where you stand. Then we can help you work out an exercise and lifestyle programme.

This will allow you to increase your fitness at a sustainable rate.”

Run by Nuffield Health, the UK’s largest healthcare charity, better known for its network of hospitals, the Harrogate Fitness and Wellbeing Centre was one of the first in the country to start doing full body MoTs a year ago.

It is a new type of health club which combines the usual gym, pool and spa with a whole range of health services, including lectures offering up-to-date information on everything from sleep problems to fad diets and stress, and workshops and seminars with highly-qualified health specialists, such as cancer and diabetes experts.

It is a timely venture. Despite the Government’s £75m antiobesity campaign, it appears that all attempts to get the country fit and healthy are failing, with obesity rates soaring and diabetes on the increase.

A nationwide survey carried out by Nuffield recently showed that more than 60 per cent of people admit not getting enough exercise.

Wellbeing advisor Richard Vanson, who has helped carry out about 1,500 assessments in Harrogate over the past year, instantly put me at my ease. We started off with a basic health questionnaire, covering diet, alcohol consumption and exercise routine – the type which I had participated in at other health clubs. The only difference was, if I was not totally honest, the truth would come out during the next set of tests.

Mr Vanson revealed that, in about five per cent of cases, these checks have flagged up concerns and alerted people to the fact that they should go to see their family doctor before exercise. In one case, someone who was unaware he had a heart problem was fitted with a pacemaker as a result and was back at the gym exercising again.

But those with less serious conditions have also benefited, said Mr Vanson: “Almost every other person has something flagged up. Blood pressure may be slightly high, or they need to watch their cholesterol, or would benefit from physiotherapy.”

My BMI was calculated using my height and weight, along with my hip to waist ratio to see if I was carrying any excess body fat. This is important as there is a strong correlation between chronic diseases such as diabetes and excess fat stored in the midsection.

My result, a BMI of 22.4, was good, in the “healthy” category, but I was under my usual weight, having lost about a stone because of stress, not dieting.

My blood pressure and glucose levels were also normal.

My cholesterol level was good, but, as Mr Vanson pointed out, I should try to reduce it even more and keep it as low as possible.

What surprised me most was how good my heart and aerobic fitness levels were. Having been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat after the birth of my first child, I was told not to worry about it unless I developed dizziness or fainting. But it had always niggled at the back of my mind. My results, rather surprisingly, put me in the “elite” category, something I knew my teenage sons would find laughable. Although I was, it must be stressed, “elite” in my age category, which could perhaps be more of a reflection on the poor general level of fitness in most 45- to 49- year-olds.

Still, Mr Vanson did seem to be impressed and put my high scores down to my 40- minute runs around the lanes three or four mornings a week, which I have always enjoyed, but hadn’t quite appreciated just how vital they were for my good health. When all the tests were over, we discussed my 12-page print-out. My typical alcohol intake – very occasional glasses of red wine – was actually shown to be beneficial. But Mr Vanson had discovered my biggest weakness – about ten cups of tea or coffee a day – so we discussed caffeine addiction. Suddenly, the headaches and early evening tiredness started to make sense. “Each cup of coffee you drink affects your body for ten hours. It will take its toll on your sleep, affect your energy levels and hydration, and you will get headaches,”

explained Mr Vanson. So I’m cutting out caffeine and upping my water intake instead, something I was always aware I should be doing. But sometimes we need to have the blinking obvious pointed out to us, in extra large print, to spur us into action. I will now have a personalised action plan and fitness programme drawn up to give me something to work towards. Having developed two small hernias as a result of childbirth, this will include specific exercises to strengthen my abdominal muscles. Then I can go back in six months and see if my full body MoT readings have improved.

Before I left, I asked Mr Vanson if he would mind highlighting my “elite” status on my 12-page health report with a bright marker pen. I think I might frame it. On my run next morning, I felt as if I had a new spring in my step ...

● Nuffield Health has 51 health clubs which offer the full body MoT service. To find a Nuffield Health Wellbeing Centre near you, go to nuffieldhealth.com. ● Nuffield Health and Wellbeing, Hornbeam Park, Harrogate HG2 8RA, tel: 01423- 810858.