Improve Health Monitoring
12 weeks · 4 milestones
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Health monitoring — consistently tracking the key metrics that predict long-term health outcomes — is itself a measurable behaviour. Most adults have significant gaps in basic health monitoring: they have not had a blood pressure check in the last year, do not know their resting heart rate, have not had a waist circumference measurement, or have not had an NHS Health Check (available free for adults aged 40–74 in England). The M1 task is to conduct a full self-assessment of current monitoring status and close the most accessible measurement gaps in a single day. Measure and record: (1) resting blood pressure (pharmacy kiosk or validated home monitor, seated 5 minutes, average of two readings 5 minutes apart, same arm; record both systolic/diastolic); (2) resting heart rate (3 consecutive mornings, lying down before getting up, 60-second pulse count, average); (3) waist circumference (tape measure at midpoint between bottom rib and hip bone, relaxed exhale, tape parallel to floor, same measurement taken twice and averaged); (4) current NHS recommended screening status for your age (Cervical, Breast, Bowel, AAA as applicable — note whether you are up to date, overdue, or not yet eligible). For any metric measured here that is outside the NHS reference range, note this explicitly as a follow-up action item.
Proof required
Submit your M1 health monitoring baseline: (1) blood pressure (two readings and average, arm noted); (2) resting heart rate (three morning readings and 3-day average); (3) waist circumference (two measurements and average, with NHS risk thresholds noted: 94cm men/80cm women); (4) current status on applicable NHS screening programmes. Note any out-of-range values as flagged for follow-up.
What gets checked
- All four components are present in M1 — partial monitoring (e.g. blood pressure only) does not constitute a comprehensive health monitoring baseline; each metric measures a different health dimension
- Blood pressure is the average of two readings taken 5 minutes apart in a seated rested state — a single reading taken while anxious or immediately after activity is not a valid baseline for a health monitoring programme
- Out-of-range values are explicitly flagged as follow-up action items — this is the key behaviour of health monitoring; noting an elevated blood pressure without flagging it for follow-up defeats the purpose of monitoring