Results from the check-ups varied from company to company and could raise alarm unnecessarily or provide false reassurance, undercover researchers found.
One researcher was given conflicting advice by three leading firms on his risk of heart disease despite getting almost identical results.
And companies that offer CT scans could be exposing patients to unnecessary and harmful radiation.
A survey of more than 4000 Which? members found that three in 10 would consider a private health check and most said they would do it to set their mind at ease.
Which? researchers aged 46 to 62, with no known health problems, paid 12 visits to six healthcare companies -- Bupa, Nuffield Health, BMI Healthcare and three independent firms -- and paid an average of £423 to each for comprehensive health MoTs, not including scans or X-rays.
In eight cases, researchers -- none of whom had a major problem identified -- were advised to get further GP tests within six months.
The report also criticised the companies tested for failing on some occasions to discuss the downsides of the testing such as false alarms.
Martyn Hocking, editor of Which?, said: “Health MOTs often cater for the ‘worried well’ who want the reassurance of a clean bill of health, but they can pay hundreds of pounds for what sometimes amounts to little more than lifestyle and dietary advice. A false sense of reassurance is potentially risky, and if the tests flag issues that turn out to be false alarms, you could actually end up with unnecessary worry.”
Which? advises people who are considering a health MoT to check what information, tests or screening are available from their GP first, and to see their GP if they have symptoms.
Dr Peter Mace, assistant clinical director at Bupa, said: “Any doctor will tell you that the earlier a health problem is identified, the more likely it is to be successfully treated. That’s why it is so important that health assessments are carried out professionally by appropriately trained doctors.
“We agree it is wrong to provide false reassurance or unnecessarily worry people with tests which may not be backed up by clinical evidence. This is why we ensure that people are told about the risks and benefits of all the tests they have beforehand.
“We see people interested in their health who want to take positive steps to improve it and understand their own health and risks.
“We do not offer or support whole-body scanning. We believe these can find problems of uncertain significance that worry people rather than reassure them”
A spokesman for Nuffield Health said: “Health is more than just the absence of disease. As a result, a significant percentage of our health assessments focus on
energy management, immunity, stress management, sleep and libido -- areas that could be described as ‘general vitality’. Much of the advice we give is about lifestyle areas they should think about changing. Our concern is that some companies offer expensive tests -- such as whole body imaging -- without good evidence that they need to be carried out in the first place.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article