You get your car MOT'd regularly to prevent anything major going wrong and now we have the change to do the same for our bodies. Our health is precious so I hope everyone takes up the opportunity to get their health checked and stop any major problems before they develop.

The proactive screening programme will help to identify an individual's risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. Over the past few decades our lives have, unfortunately, becomes increasingly sedentary while the diets of many people have become increasingly unhealthy. These changes have made these chronic diseases increasingly common and tackling them is one of the major public health challenges facing us in the 21st century.

The checks are likely to be available at GP surgeries, health centres, walk-in centres and pharmacies and will include recording peoples' height, weight, age and blood pressure, and a simple blood test for cholesterol. The data garnered from these assessments will equip 'at risk' people with the information necessary to make important lifestyle changes to reduce their risk of developing diseases like diabetes and coronary heart disease. Currently these illnesses affect the lives of 4 million people in England and are responsible for a fifth of all hospital admissions. Numbers that needs to be brought down.

And did you know there are an estimated 500,000 diabetes sufferers in the UK who are unaware of their condition? Hopefully a lot of them can now be identified and treated.

Preventing ill health is much better than trying to cure someone who is already sick. If we can spot diseases early we can do something about it and help people live longer, healthier lives. It is hoped that by offering screening at a younger age could prevent up to 9,500 heart attacks and strokes and save up to 2,000 lives every year. A very worthwhile effort – each 'statistic' is a life saved or improved.

To keep up to date on what I'm doing stop by my website http://www.michaelfoster.org.uk/.

You can also receive a monthly update on my activities by sending an email to mp@1066.net with 'MPFree' in the subject line.