How Often Should You Get A Physical? Depends On Your Age

While there's been debate over the value of annual physicals for younger, healthy adults, there's no doubt that older adults should have an annual checkup. According to a useful timeline developed by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare (pdf), adults over fifty should have a "health maintenance visit" once a year.

Some tests should be done every year beginning at a younger age. Women should have an annual clinical breast exam starting at age 40. That's also the age at which patients should start an annual skin exam. Type 2 diabetes screening should start at age 45 and be repeated every three years. Glaucoma exams should start at age 40 and be repeated every two to four years. And patients over fifty should have a flu immunization every year.

There are more listed on the pdf mentioned above.

Conditions for which an individual is at risk -- due to family history or current physical condition or behavior -- should be checked more often.

And how do you determine whether to do that? Consult your doctor, of course. No matter what, you've got to pay them a visit.

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A more detailed -- and less readable -- list of recommendations is available from the US Department of Health and Human Services' Preventive Services Task Force. The recommendations are summarized on this chart, but you have to read the fine print -- literally -- to learn what ages the different exams and tests apply to.