Help me decide!

[Goodwitch9]

Out of curiosity about my ethnic origins I ordered one of those DNA kits. Got an email today, saying if I pay an extra £50 I can upgrade my report to include health and lifestyle i.e. genetic risks of developing heart disease, breast cancer, Parkinson's, diabetes etc. I can't decide whether to upgrade or not! Partly it's the money but also I'm worried I might learn something scary. What would people do?

things I'd be thinking about in no particular order:
what are the tests? how accurate are they? how complex are the genetics?
what is your medical history? is there anything very obvious already that makes any of those conditions higher risk that you could just optimise anyway (smoking/obesity/etc.)
is there family history that makes a difference (eg. you may be eligible for BRCA testing on the Nash if there's a significant family history)
if you knew you had an increased risk of, say, Parkinsons, what could you do with that information?...is there anything you could modify to reduce that risk or will you just spend the next 40 years miserably waiting for it?

are there any insurance implications of having had the screening/of having a positive result?

lastly, have you got anything better to spend the £50 on?!

how old are you? are you eligible for an age related NHS health check?

I wouldn't upgrade for those tests. You can't do anything about your genes and it would just worry me.

Thank you both Grey and lily for your sage advice, think I'm going to leave it. Don't need a DNA test to tell me I eat too much!

Hi please don't pay any more money for more information , my daughter has spent a fortune, it came back that she needed to stay off carbs , just her doctor told her. Also please just make an appointment with your Doctor explain your worries he will ask you if any of your Family have had any diagnosis of any kind or things that run in your family and I'm sure they will do the tests that will put your mind at ease. The companies that do the testing just play on peoples fears after the anitial DNA test they will come back each time asking if you want to pay more to find more things.please be careful.

Thanks inky, I've decided not to upgrade my report.