There was a period in my life during which I visited the doctor with startling frequency. Each time I went, I had to fill out one of those questionnaires, including the section on family history. This always took a while, as I've had relatives die of strokes, heart attacks, and cancer, and nearly everyone in my family has high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and an ample amount of weight to lose. Several of my relatives have also had diabetes. Doctors would take one look at my family history, take one look at my weight, and proclaim, "Well, you should really be concerned about your health."
No. Really?
In a way, I am lucky, because nearly all of the medical maladies that have befallen my relatives have been linked to cardiovascular health. Meaning, the way to deal with them is to improve said cardiovascular health. And how does one do that? Why, cardio exercise, of course.
It's not that easy, obviously. While I can make my heart stronger and more efficient by pushing it hard in the gym, I also need to make sure my diet doesn't contribute to high cholesterol or high blood pressure. And, of course, there's always the specter of diabetes, which I am absolutely terrified of. (I once had a doctor friend remark to me, "Get anything, and we can treat it. Just don't get diabetes. If you get diabetes, you're fucked.") I've had my insulin resistance tested recently, and while I am not necessarily pre-diabetic, I'm not exactly in the clear either.
The good thing is that those two things I named above--exercise and a good diet--are things that about 95% of my relatives didn't prescribe to. And so it is entirely within my reach to be the outlier in my family's medical history, as long as I put the effort in. And if I don't? Well, I've got plenty of examples of the consequences of that decision.