Know Your Numbers Week 2023
Learn about this important week on the workplace wellbeing calendar
What is Know Your Numbers Week?
Know Your Numbers Week is a wellbeing campaign in the UK to help people get to know their health stats.
Primarily, the campaign focuses on blood pressure. Here at New Leaf Health, we also advocate for awareness around cholesterol and blood glucose, too.
These three stats are crucial to the health of your heart and blood vessels, as well as other major organs. Often, if you have any problems with these stats, you won’t have symptoms.
The only way to find out if you have problems with blood pressure, cholesterol or blood glucose is to get tested regularly.
When does Know Your Numbers Week 2023 take place?
Know Your Numbers Week 2023 typically takes place during the first full week of September.
Blood Pressure UK, who organise the campaign, have confirmed that this year’s event will take place from the 4th to the 10th September 2023.
Want to keep up to date on wellbeing campaigns throughout the year? Click below to download our free Workplace Wellbeing Calendar for 2023!
How to get involved with Know Your Numbers Week 2023
It’s easy to get involved in Know Your Numbers Week in 2023.
The best way to take part is by hosting staff health screening in your workplace. For blood pressure testing, you can buy or rent a machine to host in your workplace.
If you want to address cholesterol and blood glucose too, you could look in to having a facilitated staff health screening in your workplace.
In just 20 minutes, staff will know their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose scores. They’ll have actionable advice to take away, and they’ll also be referred to their GP if they’re shown as at-risk.
How does Health Screening Work?
Testing blood pressure is simple. Attendees place their arm in a cuff, which the blood pressure machine tightens around the arm for a minute or so, measuring the force of blood as it pumps around the body.
Cholesterol and glucose testing is just as simple. Attendees receive a tiny finger-prick to draw a droplet of blood, which is then tested within minutes using a specialist machine.
With a New Leaf Health Screening, our practitioners will also explain the results to attendees, and give them actionable advice to help improve or maintain their numbers.
What are the Symptoms of High Blood Pressure, Cholesterol and Blood Glucose?
High blood pressure is known as ‘the silent killer’. This is because those with the condition rarely show any symptoms at all.
Similarly, high cholesterol and blood glucose often won’t show any symptoms in the early stages, either. People with type-2 diabetes can have the condition for up to 10 years without realising, for example.
Without regular testing, these issues can go undetected in the body, damaging your cardiovascular system. In the long run, this can lead to life-threatening conditions, such as:
- Heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
- Heart failure.
- Kidney disease.
- Aortic aneurysms and vascular dementia.
