Preventive care is moving beyond annual tests towards muscle, metabolic health, fitness and personalised plans
Mount Kilimanjaro is not a very steep climb. But it needs you to be able to walk through severe cold for days. So, for a 52-year-old woman with a hip fracture surgery behind her, it wasn’t just about getting fit for a high-altitude trek. She also had a thyroid condition, borderline muscle loss, high cortisol and sleep disorder. So when she expressed a desire to make the climb, preparation had to include altitude conditioning with careful resistance training, intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic therapy (where you alternately inhale low-oxygen air and oxygen-rich air for improved energy and cell repair), cardiovascular conditioning and hike simulations, diet and supplements. Ten weeks on, she gained 2kg of lean mass while her fat mass reduced, muscle index rose, bone mineral density improved, and resting metabolic rate got better.