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How to organize your health goals using planners and digital apps
Taking care of our health should always be a top priority, yet we often put it on the back burner because other things seem more important. A lot of people actively think of their health only when they get sick or face the possibility of a serious health condition that could disrupt their lives. But prevention is better than cure, so the best thing we can do for ourselves is take every aspect of our well-being into our hands.
This is where setting up some health goals can come in handy – it can help you really focus on the aspects of your life that need work, be it nutrition, exercise, amount of sleep, or mental health.
Organizing your health goals helps you identify and address your weak points head-on, which could make all the difference in the long run. Here’s how to do it!
How do you set your health goals?
Even if you’ve never done it before, setting up your health goals is fairly straightforward, and it can take many different forms, depending on your needs and preferences.
You probably already know exactly what you’d like to work on to boost your health, which should be your starting point.
Maybe you’re trying to change your lifestyle, eat more wholesome homemade foods, drink less alcohol, prepare for, and run your first 10K, the sky is the limit.
The goal should make you feel good about yourself and only boost your confidence when you achieve it.
Health goals could also encompass taking care of your mental health because that’s what dictates the quality and pace of your life.
If you’ve got an underlying health condition, it may be a good idea to plan out improvements to directly minimize the symptoms, all in coordination with your doctor.
Now that you’ve set your goal, we can move to where and how you’ll draw up your wellness journey roadmap.
Which is better to use, a planner or an app?
Remember how we talked about your preferences?
Choosing the medium on which you’ll draft your health goals is completely up to you because you know best whether you prefer to have physical reminders of your routines or use technology to help you out.
There’s no wrong answer here, but there are some perks you can take into consideration on both fronts.
When to Use a Planner
Using quality planners to write down your goals can help make them feel more real.
You know what they say: a dream written down with a date becomes a goal, so if this rings true for you, maybe using a planner is the road for you.
The best part is that there are so many options to choose from, and anything from customizable undated planners by Erin Condren to handmade leather-bound notebooks is fair game.
Another big benefit of using planners is that you can format them however you like.
Over time, they can even become a health diary in which you share your progress, setbacks, and revelations from your journey.
Sometimes, it’s good to give context to goal development because our fast-paced lives can make us forget all the invaluable lessons we got along the way.
When to use Apps
If you prefer using technology to track your progress on your health and fitness goals, there’s no shortage of apps for that.
You can organize and set your health goals on your phone and have them with you wherever you go. Ease of access is one of the biggest perks of using apps and why millions prefer them.
Apps are highly customizable, and you can set them up to send you regular reminders to drink water, go out for a walk, do that 20-minute exercise routine, or take your meds.
This is super helpful for reducing your mental load while making the best decisions for your well-being.
Whether it’s some sort of fitness or food diary app, you can automate it to help you track calories, count steps, and inform you of your sleep quality.
Additionally, if your goals include tracking your performance and progress over time, having an app will make your life much easier.
You can also take a hybrid approach, in which you use apps to keep data on your performance and a planner to write about your overall impressions and changes.
Conclusion
Understanding the importance of having and keeping up with your health goals is a foundation for a more holistic approach to your well-being.
The methods you use to accomplish them are up to you, and it may time to find the one that works best for you.
Just like with all goals, it’s important to remember that these endeavors are a marathon, not a sprint, and that setbacks are to be expected, but how you come back from them is what defines your success.
Transdermal HRT best protects bone density in women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea, a condition that stops periods, a review of trials has found.
The meta-analysis pooled randomised clinical trials involving 692 participants and found transdermal hormone replacement therapy and teriparatide increased bone mineral density by between 2 and 13 per cent.
Functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea can follow anorexia or intense exercise. Bone mineral density measures bone strength and the amount of mineral in bone.
Around half of women with the condition have low bone mineral density, compared with about 1 per cent of healthy women, and their fracture risk is up to seven times higher.
The research was conducted by scientists at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
Professor Alexander Comninos, senior author of the study and consultant endocrinologist at the trust, said: “Bone density is lost very rapidly in FHA and so addressing bone health early is very important to reduce the lifelong risk of fractures.
“Our study provides much needed comparisons of all the available treatments from all available studies.
“Clearly the best treatment is to restore normal menstrual cycles and therefore oestrogen levels through various psychological, nutritional or exercise interventions – but that is not always possible.
“The foundation for bone health is good calcium and vitamin D intake (through diet and/or supplements) but we have additional treatments that are more effective.”
When FHA is diagnosed, clinicians first try to restore periods through lifestyle measures, including psychological and dietary support, but these can fail. Guidelines then recommend giving oestrogen, though the best form was unclear.
The team reviewed all prior randomised trials comparing therapies, including oral and transdermal oestrogen, and also assessed teriparatide, a prescription bone-building drug used for severe osteoporosis.
They found no significant benefit for oral contraceptive pills or oral hormone therapy.
A recent UK audit reported that about a quarter of women with anorexia-related FHA are prescribed the oral contraceptive pill for bone loss; the study suggests using transdermal therapy instead.
Comninos said: “Our goal is simple: to help women receive the right treatment sooner and to protect their bone health in the long-term.
“We hope this study provides clinicians with better evidence to choose transdermal oestrogen when prescribing oestrogen and so inform future practice guidelines.
“Right now, millions of women with FHA may not be receiving the best treatments for their bone health.”
An AI tool cut interval breast cancers by 12 per cent in a Swedish screening trial of more than 105,000 women.
The study also found 27 per cent fewer aggressive breast cancers detected at screening when AI was used.
Interval cancers are cancers found between routine screening appointments because they were missed at the original scan. They are often more dangerous and linked to higher death rates than cancers found at screening.
The MASAI trial is described as the first large randomised study to test whether AI can improve mammography screening, which uses low-dose X-rays to examine breast tissue for signs of cancer.
The AI tool, called Transpara Detection and developed by ScreenPoint Medical, supported radiologists in analysing mammography images.
Earlier results from the same trial showed that Transpara Detection increased cancers found by 29 per cent and reduced radiologist workload by 44 per cent compared with standard double-reading, where two radiologists independently review each scan.
The latest findings indicate higher accuracy with AI support. Sensitivity, the ability to detect cancer, was 6.7 percentage points higher in the AI group while specificity, the ability to rule out healthy cases, was maintained. Results were similar across age groups and breast density levels.
Women screened with AI had 16 per cent fewer invasive interval cancers and 21 per cent fewer large interval cancers than those in the standard screening group.
The system also helps doctors assess risk more precisely by subdividing suspicious findings into BI-RADS 4 categories A, B and C. BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) is a standardised scale that guides whether a patient needs closer monitoring, further tests or treatment.
Ageing anxiety may accelerate biological ageing in women, with fears about worsening health linked to faster epigenetic ageing, according to new research.
The study found that greater anxiety about growing old was associated with accelerated epigenetic ageing, as measured by the DunedinPACE clock, based on biological markers in blood samples.
Epigenetic changes are shifts in how genes are switched on or off without altering DNA itself, which can influence how the body ages and functions.
“Our research suggests that subjective experiences may be driving objective measures of ageing,” said Mariana Rodrigues, a PhD student and the first author of the study.
“Ageing-related anxiety is not merely a psychological concern, but may leave a mark on the body with real health consequences.”
Researchers analysed data from 726 women in the Midlife in the US study.
Participants were asked how much they worried about becoming less attractive with age, having more health issues and being too old to have children.
Blood samples were used to assess ageing with two epigenetic clocks: DunedinPACE, which estimates the pace of biological ageing, and GrimAge2, which estimates cumulative biological damage.
The study was conducted by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health.
Worrying about declining health showed the strongest links with epigenetic ageing, while anxiety about attractiveness and fertility was not significantly associated with biological markers.
The authors suggest health worries are more common and persist over time, whereas concerns about appearance and reproduction may fade with age.
“Women in midlife may also be multiple in roles, including caring for their ageing parents,” Rodrigues said.
“As they see older family members grow older and become sick, they may worry about whether the same thing will happen to them.”
The authors caution that the study offers a snapshot in time and other factors may influence these biological changes.
When analyses were adjusted for health behaviours such as smoking and alcohol use, the link between ageing anxiety and epigenetic ageing decreased and was no longer significant.
“Our research identifies ageing anxiety as a measurable and modifiable psychological determinant that seems to be shaping ageing biology,” said Adolfo Cuevas, associate professor of social and behavioural sciences and the study’s senior author.
They call for more research to clarify how this anxiety influences ageing over time, to guide support for those experiencing ageing anxiety.
“Ageing is a universal experience.” Rodrigues said.
“We need to start a discourse about how we as a society, through our norms, structural factors and interpersonal relationships, address the challenges of ageing.”
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