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When was the last time you saw a doctor? Five years ago, ten, yesterday? If your last doctor visit was not that long ago then good for you. Make sure and keep up the good work. If you haven't been to the doctor since you had strep throat when you were 12 then shame on you.

If you are nearing, or have arrived at middle age, it's important that you visit your doctor at least once a year for a general physical. When you're younger you can generally get away with not seeing the doctor because you have youth on your side, but as you grow older you become more susceptible to diseases, such as cancer. Having a yearly physical once a year betters your chances of surviving a cancer diagnosis because it gives your doctor a chance to catch it in its early stages and cure it before it overruns your body.

But safeguarding against disease does not start and stop one day a year when you see the doctor. Monitoring your health requires you to live a healthy lifestyle, and living a healthy lifestyle means that you must focus on a few aspects in your life. To begin, ask yourself the following questions:

Is your body in shape?
Do you eat healthy?

How do you know if the answers to these questions are yes? Simple. To answer the first question, walk up a flight of stairs. If you are out of breath when you get to the top then you are out of shape.

Answering the second question requires you to truly be honest with yourself. If your breakfast consists of a bagel and orange juice, and your lunch consists of a double bacon heart clogger from the hamburger joint, then the answer is no, especially if this is your diet more than twice a week.

To be able to answer these questions with a 'yes' you need to change your lifestyle. Instead of coming home from work and lying on the couch with a beer, spend 30 minutes on the treadmill, which is a great form of cardiovascular exercise. Do this three to four times a week. Secondly, don't eat fast food or any kind of restaurant food more than once a week if you can help it, but it would be even better if you restrained yourself to eating out only twice a month.

This is your wake up call. If what has been described is similar to your lifestyle then you need to make a change. You can't continue to live like this and expect to live a long and healthy life. It's time to start seeing the doctor once a year, begin working out a few times a week, and raising the health bar on your diet by including fresh vegetables and fruits.

It's imperative that in middle age you follow the guideline written here. They are the key to a long, healthy and prosperous life. If you have a doctor then make an appointment, don't delay. If you don't have a doctor, then get one.