![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUK3oyi3EKaxWwMDyNgVivfU8fbRpmbsUrir5XetvTgvG/image.png)

*Recently, one of my friends proudly told me that his health is just fine. I first felt like a bad friend because I was not aware that there might had been a problem. Did not appear to be that way. It was a preventive examination: a full or total body scan. As he told it, he lit a cigarette and ordered another beer.*

**That night I began to reflect. What we see more and more often is that people who have no complaints or medical indication, would like to do a full medical check-up, for example a full body scan. You can have this done in Germany, for example, it is even advertised in the newspaper. You can also have your genes examined by online providers. Is that a good idea, should we make it completely legal, or should we put restrictions on it?**

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXFj1JqZEkUbd1TmoGRcxQSdG6UEnTGDyYiWw2xQGgehT/image.png)

I feel like some people go a bit too far in wanting to measure, to know and to test. At the same time, there is also a group that is not sufficiently aware of the consequences of their behavior on their health, so it is a mixed picture. The wide range of health checks can lead to an unhealthy obsession, such as an app on your phone that tells you if you are sleeping and moving enough, or an app that lets you check whether your diet is in order by taking pictures of your food. In this way we become too focused on our health, as if that is the only thing that matters.

This fixation on healthy living could also lead you to think that it all lie in your own hands. Not all health problems are caused by your behavior. Health is simply not malleable, that is a dangerous illusion. The problem of doing all kinds of research, such as a body scan, while you have no complaints in itself, is that the chance that you find something significant is actually very small.

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXFj1JqZEkUbd1TmoGRcxQSdG6UEnTGDyYiWw2xQGgehT/image.png)

The chance that you find things that do not really mean anything is, in my opinion, much bigger. It is possible that something is brought to your attention, such as a spot on your back, of which they do not know exactly what it is. A scan alone cannot tell whether the abnormality found is dangerous or not. This requires further research. These examinations can lead to medical complications again.

Most studies are done with the MRI scan. This scanner does not use X-rays, and is in principle harmless. But sometimes they have to use C.T. scans for further examination, and they do involve a radiation risk. The C.T. scanner makes a lot of small X-rays, each showing a 'slice' of your body. The computer combines those slices into one image. Because the C.T. scan consists of a lot of small X-rays, the dose of radiation you get is considerably higher than the radiation of a normal X-ray. Let’s say that a C.T. scan roughly equals 200 X-rays! These scans increase the risk of cancer. Although this risk is small, it is big enough to think very carefully about whether such a CT scan is necessary.

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmRELZMUWApVsLTz4ZMKN1ZJfJH4uNuZPMKFzpEfJnbHNw/image.png)
*[Photo source](https://www.ippmedia.com/en/news/mbeya-hospital-procures-%C2%A0%C2%A0ct-scan-machine-last)*

I'm not saying this just like that. The usefulness of preventive research has been studied extensively *(see below text)*. 

> It appears that secondary prevention, medical check-ups and population screening do not lead to a longer survival, but to health loss. That’s a disconcerting observation! 

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXFj1JqZEkUbd1TmoGRcxQSdG6UEnTGDyYiWw2xQGgehT/image.png)

Most citizens do not know about this. Many people mistakenly assume the motto: “Well, all right, no harm, no foul”. An assumption that lives broadly, but is actually very detrimental, because it totally ignores the harmful effects described above. The fact that many of these full body scans are offered by commercial players with their gleaming brochures should also raise a red flag, isn’t it.

So there is a risk to both the false positives and the false negatives, which ensures many unintended side effects: for someone with an unhealthy lifestyle, a good test result may be a reason to continue on the same footing, and someone who hears that something is not quite right can suddenly start feeling like a patient.

Very briefly summarized: a full body scan is thus no guarantee for the future. You have to realize in advance what a psychological burden it can be. Some people just get sick, and that's bad luck. Gradually we find it increasingly difficult to accept that…

![](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXFj1JqZEkUbd1TmoGRcxQSdG6UEnTGDyYiWw2xQGgehT/image.png)

*cartoon at introductory text: Sam Island. [Photo Source](https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2017/medical-tests-health-screenings-cs.html)*

*some studies around the usefulness of preventive research (written in Dutch):* 

- *Uitgebreide voorbeelden van de valkuilen van screening bij kanker worden op begrijpelijke wijze besproken door dr. Luc Bonneux in zijn boek ‘En ze leefden nog lang en gezond. Hoe gezondheid een industrie werd.’ Uitgeverij Lannoo nv, Tiel, 2011.* 

- *Mackenbach JP (eindred.). Successen van preventie 1970-2010. Erasmus Publishing / ErasmusMC, Rotterdam, 2011.*

- *Stolley PD, Lasky T. Bevolkingsonderzoek: Kosten, risico’s en baten. In: Stolley PD, Lasky T. Epidemiologie: speuren naar patronen van ziekte en gezondheid. Wetenschappelijke Bibliotheek (deel 51). Natuur en Techniek / Uitgeverij Segment, Beek (L), 1997.*