Tests you can do on yourself

1 LONG FINGERS

PEOPLE with ring fingers the same length or shorter than their index fingers are more at risk of a premature heart attack. This is because they have lower levels of protective hormones in their blood

2 BALANCING ACT

STAND unsupported on your left leg with your right leg bent at 45 degrees and your hands on your hips. Close your eyes. Time how long it takes you to lose your balance and have to put your right leg on the floor. Repeat three times and take the best score.

If you lose your balance in 50 seconds or less, your joints might not be so healthy. This could also be a sign of spinal problems.

3 REACTION TIME

GET a pal to hold a long ruler above your writing hand. When they drop it vertically between your fingers and thumb, try to catch it as quickly as possible. If you catch the ruler near the bottom end, you have a good reaction time which is a sign of good brain and eye health.

4 TEST YOUR SIGHT

PLACE the end of a ruler on your cheekbone below the eye. Hold a video club or bank card on the ruler and slowly move it towards the eye until the writing blurs. Measure the distance at which the card can be easily read. The nearer you can get it without blurring shows healthy vision.

Dr Cooper says: “Your eye health is often a good indication of your general health, although most people over 45 will expect to lose some near vision.”

WALK THIS WAY

STICK about one metre of masking tape to the floor in a straight line. Walk along it heel-to-toe, making sure that with each step the heel of the foot you put down touches the toe of the foot on the ground. If you can walk along the line five times without faltering you’ve got good co-ordination.

Dr Cooper says: “Co-ordination is an important indication of good brain health and that your central nervous system is working.”

BRAIN WORKOUT

COUNT back from 100, in sevens, down to zero, eg. 100, 93, 86 onwards. If you struggle or take longer than a minute, it can indicate brain ageing. Dr Cooper says: “Keeping your mind in good shape, especially as you get older, is often linked to living long

7 CURVES ARE BEST

“APPLE-SHAPED people — with a thick waist and narrow hips — are more likely to get heart disease,” says Dr Annabel Bentley, assistant medical director of private health providers BUPA.

To get your waist-to-hip ratio, divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement — the widest part around your buttocks. Men with a ratio above one and women above 0.85 risk health problems.

8 STRETCH OUT

STRETCH out your arms in front of you. Dr Cooper says: “If your hands are noticeably trembling, you could have an overactive thyroid.”

Very shaky hands indicate you could have serious liver problems. See your GP for a check-up.

9 PALM READING

HOLD out your palms in front of you and look closely at the skin. If it is very red and blotchy, you could have a type of liver disease when the bile ducts — tiny tubes in the liver which drain bile — are attacked by the body’s own immune system.

10 NAIL IT

LOOK closely at your nails. A blue tint can suggest a heart defect. Bulging or thick nails can be a symptom of breathing problems or even lung cancer

11 MEMORY CHECK

GET a pal to put ten objects on a tray. Look at them for ten seconds, then shut your eyes and see how many you can remember. Having a good memory means you are less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

12 SIGHT SIGNALS

LOOK at one of your eyes in a mirror. A white ring around the edge of the iris — the coloured bit — shows you may have high cholesterol and a higher risk of heart problems. The longer the ring, the higher your cholesterol is likely to be. An unbroken line is normal in someone aged 80.

13 COUNT YOUR BREATHS

IF you breathe less than 15 times a minute — count one every time you inhale — you’ve got healthy lungs. More than 25 and your lungs are in poor shape. The British Lung Foundation says people with lung problems may be unable to provide enough oxygen for their muscles to perform even small amounts of activity, such as walkin

14 LEG STRENGTH

LIE on your back with your legs straight. Raise one leg off the floor. Get someone to press down on your thigh. Leg muscles are stronger than arm muscles so they shouldn’t be able to push your leg down. If they can, you could be suffering from muscle weakness.

15 TAKE YOUR PULSE

GENERALLY, the lower your resting pulse the longer you will live. A rate of 70 or below is healthy.

To check your heart rate, place your index and middle fingers lightly on the pulse in your wrist or at the right side of your neck and count the beats for one minute. If your pulse rate is over 100 and you also feel unwell, see your GP.

16 BIRTH WEIGHT

ASK your mum your birth weight.

If you were underweight — under 7lb — you are more likely to have heart disease or high blood pressure as an adult.

17 BRUSH YOUR TEETH

IS there any blood? Bleeding gums don’t just show gum disease but could also indicate heart problems.

Dr Cooper says: “Research suggests the bacteria that cause gums to get infected could also cause inflammation of blood vessels

18 GOING TO THE LOO

DO you need a wee more than once every three hours? Going to the loo a lot is a sign of diabetes.

According to Diabetes UK, sufferers have excess sugar in their blood as the body is unable to break it down for energy. The excess is passed out through urine. Going to the toilet a lot may make you feel thirsty — another symptom

19 ANKLE CHECKS

PRESS your thumb into your ankle, just below the ankle bone. If you can make a pit in the skin with your finger, you’ve probably got fluid retention. This could point to heart failure, kidney or liver disease.

20 SKIN TEST

PINCH the skin on the back of your hand. Hold it for one minute and let go. Note how long it takes for it to regain its normal, flat appearance. If it doesn’t snap back quickly, the skin has lost some of its collagen and elasticity.

Our organs also have collagen and this test can be a useful outward sign of what’s going on inside the body