Brits don’t start taking their health seriously until they’re 38 – as one expert says, it’s NEVER too late to overhaul your lifestyle

Brits only start taking their health seriously at the age of 38 – and often only after a scare, research shows.

The study of 2,000 adults found that developing new aches and pains or reaching a milestone birthday were also among the triggers that encouraged them to take better care of themselves.

Others were spurred into action after a loved one passed away or had a health problem.

Respondents were asked at what age they first started taking their health seriously; the mean response was 38 years old.

They were then asked what it was that made them take their health more seriously at this age, with health anxiety being one of the top reasons (23 percent), along with developing new aches and pains (28 percent). and feeling physically unfit (28 percent).

Celebrities also play a role in helping people take better care of their health. About one in thirty say a famous person with a medical problem forced them to take things more seriously.

Following the announcement that King Charles is undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate, the NHS website page about the condition was visited eleven times more than the day before, resulting in one person visiting the site every five seconds.

The OnePoll survey, commissioned by Bupa, shows that 11 percent of adults admit they don’t take their health very seriously.

Nearly half (45 percent) didn’t pay much attention to it when they were younger because they generally felt fine, while 36 percent felt they were just too young to worry about it – and 25 percent felt there was nothing bad would happen. to them.

In retrospect, 84 percent feel they took their health for granted when they were younger, and 39 percent regret not taking better care of their health before their mid-20s.

Nearly four in ten (38 percent) admitted to having a poor diet in their younger years, while 30 percent claim they drank too much alcohol and 28 percent felt they let stress overwhelm them.

However, 30 percent have been asked to take more care of their health by someone else, including their partner (39 percent), a parent (33 percent) or a medical professional (30 percent).

As a result, 45 percent now try to get enough sleep, 43 percent drink more water and 34 percent try to reduce stress to take care of their health.

The survey also found that 21 percent are currently unhappy with the state of their physical health, while 32 percent are unhappy with their fitness level.

Dr. Elizabeth Rogers, associate clinical director at Bupa Health Clinics, which offers preventative health checks, said: ‘It can be very easy to ignore your health – especially when you are young or when you feel like everything is fine.

‘No one wants to think that something might be wrong, but often the first signs of a problem are not obvious.

“Sometimes you have to wake up before you start taking your health more seriously, whether that’s getting sick yourself or seeing a loved one or even a famous person with a problem.”

She added: ‘There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to health and making even small changes to your exercise regime or diet can make a real difference to both your physical and mental health, as well as help prevent future conditions. .’