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Doctors Warn: Check-ups May Offer False Security
17 May
Summary
- Many 'full body check-up' packages include numerous tests but miss crucial diagnostics.
- Preventive care should be personalized, age-specific, and risk-based, not just a list of tests.
- Commercialized packages often create false reassurance, overlooking lifestyle and history factors.
Modern 'full body check-up' packages often create a false sense of security, according to medical experts. Vascular surgeon Dr. Sumit Kapadia explained that no amount of testing can detect all bodily problems, and blood tests alone are insufficient. Many low-cost packages, while extensive, may omit vital investigations such as ECGs or screenings for arterial blockages.
Dr. Amit Saraf, director of internal medicine at Jupiter Hospital, Thane, further elaborated that health assessment involves more than just numbers. Important diseases can be missed if reliance is placed solely on routine blood panels, neglecting crucial elements like medical history, physical examination, and targeted imaging or screening.
Saraf emphasized that effective preventive medicine is individualized, considering age, lifestyle, family history, and specific risk factors. Commercialized packages, with their focus on quantity and broad claims, can mislead patients into believing comprehensive testing guarantees health, potentially leading to unnecessary anxiety, false positives, or overlooked serious conditions.
