Jan 9, 2026
A Chinese saying, that learning is like peddling upstream, if we slow down our peddling, we not only won't progress, we will digress.
The same can be true for many aspects of life, including ageing, health, if we do not put enough effort, they will just slide downward.
Therefore, it is necessary for us to regularly review our health data (Blood pressure, lab tests, and the likes) so that we know where we stand, that we may navigate our ageing pathway and enjoy the journey as best as can be.
Health literacy is the ability to read these health data with understanding, and react it similar to those trained in medical/health knowledge. Internet has made information freely available, it creates a platform for all sorts of info, accurate, inaccurate, and anything in between.
21st century offers us many technological advances to help us keep our data conveniently, that I can depend less on another person. Many of these are just easily available.
I use a smart watch, and its APP,
to track my Physical activities, including daily steps, and exercise session, heart rate during exercise (even though it is not very accurate, I feel it is still very useful.
The option of pairing it with a chest lead monitor is available and it is fairly affordable) 
In the same APP, I also keep my Blood pressure, (I key in manually, for those who are more techy, blue tooth link BP apparatus available)
My Weight (same as above), to maintain or drive a weight target (yes, some time I do that, as at the moment, I still aim to bring my weight down by about 0.5 kg).
My sleep pattern as reference, even though I don't find the sleep record matches my subject sense of sleep quality.
All of the above in one APP.
For nutrition/diet, unfortunately, I have not found one that I think is really easy to record, and good yet. So, the APP that I use is a bit complicated, but as it is recommended in the Lifestyle Medicine course which I took 7+ years ago, I started using it, and got used to it after about 4-6 months (that was in 2019).
I would say, for a start, use a smart watch, track your physical activities, the daily steps, and exercise session. If you are already doing that, you can try to add other data into your monitoring list, ie Blood pressure and weight, occas blood sugar, cholesterol (I use AIA Vitality plan, at least annually, I will have those done).
If you have suggestion, please do share with me.
If you desire to discuss diet/nutrition APP choice, you can meet me in the monthly Just Walk event,
1st Saturday, 5 pm, at Playground by the Sea, Straits Green Park, Seri Tanjung Pinang (next to Stonyhurst International School, Penang)
You can view the monthly announcement at both Just Walk! Penang and Diabetes Malaysia, Penang branch Facebooks.
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