> The reason Sweden doesn't do regular health checks of the population is because there is no good scientific evidence that it has any effect. And that if a person feels healthy, they most likely are.

I think this is naive: there are a number of reasons people in Sweden don't easily get health-checks, and among these are certainly cost-saving, where the healthcare representatives who you need to contact before speaking to a doctor or nurse act as gatekeepers to the system. This 'rationing' of resources can sometimes have dire consequences, as happened to a former colleague of mine, who was denied the in-person checks he needed and almost died as a consequence.

There's also an enormous amount of peer-pressure in Sweden to be skinny, fit and actively go to the gym several times each week. A fat person is an extreme rarity in Stockholm. Couple this with an ingrained cultural 'guilt-complex' instilled in everyone not to be a 'burden' on anyone else, and the health-service is suddenly transformed into an 'emergency-only' institution.

Naturally that may be seen as a positive - although for some people it may have bad outcomes. It certainly contrasts with my extended family in Spain, who have tests for every possible malady at all times. But otoh that seems to work pretty good too, as one of my uncles died last year at the age of 102.

"And that if a person feels healthy, they most likely are."

Uh, high blood pressure is a typical "silent" disease with major effect on health later.

You don't need a blood test to measure your blood pressure though.

The article says that you should check blood pressure and blood sugar every 5 years. And blood fats "some time". But that's very different from a regular check up.