www.astralcodexten.com/p/should-people-avoid-whole-body-screening
1 correction found
only ~half of people bother to go to regular checkups
For U.S. adults, this substantially understates how common routine checkups are. CDC data say about three-quarters of adults had a routine checkup in the past year, not “about half.”
Full reasoning
The article is written in a U.S. healthcare context (U.S. dollars, U.S. screening discourse), and in that context "only ~half" is too low.
CDC's PLACES prevention definitions page says that in 2022, about 3 in 4 U.S. adults (76.2%) visited a doctor for a routine checkup in the past year. CDC FastStats also reports that 85.2% of U.S. adults had a visit with a doctor or other health care professional in the past year in 2024. Those figures are well above "about half."
So while the exact percentage depends on how "checkup" is defined, the claim materially understates routine preventive/medical attendance in the U.S.
2 sources
- Prevention | PLACES | CDC
Routine checkup within the past year among adults... In 2022, about 3 in 4 of U.S. adults (76.2%) visited a doctor for a routine checkup in the past year.
- FastStats - Physician office visits
Percent of adults who had a visit with a doctor or other health care professional in the past year: 85.2% (2024)