MORE than 5,000 people in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area will be invited to come forward for a human MOT.Between January and March, everyone aged 40 to 74 will be invited to their GP practice for the health check, which will assess a person's risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

MORE than 5,000 people in the Great Yarmouth and Waveney area will be invited to come forward for a human MOT.

Between January and March, everyone aged 40 to 74 will be invited to their GP practice for the health check, which will assess a person's risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

The free check is part of a national programme involving questions and measurements including height, weight, medication, age, family history and blood pressure.

NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney public health consultant Dr Augustine Pereira said: “We really hope people take up this offer of a free health check to prevent future problems. Improving your health can have a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of you and your family - as well as the community you live in.

“You will be given personal advice on how to lower your risks and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

The checks will be carried out every five years so people can see how their lifestyle continues to affect their overall health.

Each check will conclude with an action plan including practical advice on ways to effectively improve health and wellbeing.

Everyone who visits their GP for the health check will be issued with a guide offering information on weight-management programmes and exercise programmes and stop smoking service.

Norfolk Link patient representative Graham Dunhill, welcomed the initiative.

He said: “The invitation to have a health check is an offer no-one should refuse. I am sure we all prefer the health service to focus on prevention. The opportunity now exists for individuals to find out how healthy they are and if necessary change their lifestyle so that they can avoid the early onset of health problems.

“No matter what it tells us - better to change our lifestyle now than to react to an urgent situation later.”

A downloadable leaflet is available through the Department of Health's website detailing the reasons why you should have the check. Leaflets are available on the site in other languages including Polish, Russian, Portuguese and Turkish - www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/DH_097490

Contact the stop smoking service by texting QUIT to 65000.