Become a threat to what threatens your health

Bo Jackson is the only athlete named to the NFL Pro Bowl and MLB All-star game in the same season. Deion Sanders hit a home run in the MLB and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week. Multi-threats we’d like to see more of. In contrast, we’d like to see less of the multiple threats of diabetes and lung cancer that menace many Americans.

Well, two new recommendations can let you know if you’re at risk, so you can become a positive threat to anything standing in your way of health and happiness.

No. 1. If you are overweight, it’s smart to get screened for prediabetes or diabetes at age 35, according to a draft of new U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations. If you’re cleared, get rechecked annually. If you’re diagnosed, you can begin to cure or control the conditions with smart lifestyle changes and, if needed, medication. Check out www.doctoroz.com: Search for “Quiz: Are Your Prediabetic?” and “Chronic Type 2 Diabetes Management Is About Knowing the Facts.”

No. 2. Current smokers and ex-smokers who quit within the past 15 years, ages 50 to 80, and who have a 20-pack-year history, should get screened for lung cancer with a low-dose CT scan, says USPSTF. Optimally, you should have the scan four consecutive years.

What’s a 20-pack-year history mean? Well, if you smoked a pack a day for 20 years or two a day for 10 years, you’ve accumulated 20 pack-years. Need help quitting? Search for “Quitting Smoking” at www.myclevelandclinic.org.