It is a preventive measure since many diseases can be detected early during routine medical check-up before they assume a terminal dimension. This is also because early detection of diseases makes treatment cheaper and the disease easier to eliminate.
In the western and civilized world, medical check-up is a routine social habit. Due to high level of education and health awareness in these climes, most individuals go for medical check-up once in three months or at least twice a year.
Similarly, you find corporate organizations sponsoring medical check-up of their staff to justify the state of their health and how this affects their work productivity.
In Africa and sadly too, medical check-up has little or no value. Some men take pride in the fact that they have never been to the hospital all their lives. There is also the belief that you neither need a medical check-up nor a medical attention when sick as long as you have faith. Unfortunately, this poor mental attitude has lead to the death of many people.
Obviously, the importance of regular medical check-up cannot be undermined. The reasons are simple. Most diseases especially chronic ones have silent or slow progression. As such, a person does not feel sick until the disease progression has reached a certain level of manifestation. Regular medical check-up helps with early detection which is a greater facilitator of effective treatment. Also, having regular health and medical check-ups is important in promoting good health. This is because most diseases in the environment have a link with lifestyle. And these lifestyle diseases come as a result of our feeding and ways of interaction.
Therefore, to be sure of our health status and prevent certain diseases that can damage the health system, it is important to go for regular medical check-ups.