One of the most common signs of declining health is the presence of fatigue during tasks that normally do not cause the individual to experience such a response. This can occur in healthy and active people under the age of 40 just as frequently as it does in generally sedentary people who have already reached retirement age. While the early onset of extreme fatigue is a warning sign for people of all ages, the context in which this fatigue occurs is also important to recognize.

Just as Ken Fisher might suggest, people are unique in all sorts of ways that range from their approach to their professional career to the way they choose to view their health. For a person who has stayed active and continues to exercise on a regular basis, the presence of significant fatigue after walking up a few flights of stairs may be cause for an immediate trip to the doctor for an evaluation. It may be nothing more than just a minor health issue that will clear up with time and it may even be the result of overtraining, but it is also possible that the fatigue is due to an oncoming respiratory or cardiovascular problem that is best addressed in its early stages.

For the sedentary individual, this kind of fatigue after climbing a set of stairs is far more likely to be a normal occurrence and not an immediate warning sign. Of course, it should be noted that while it is not a warning of imminent danger, the fact that fatigue is experienced in this way is something that should be addressed through positive changes to diet and exercise under the guidance of a doctor or other health professional. It is clearly essential to understand context and to make the appropriate changes based on each individual situation. After all, the active individual may have to reduce their training to alleviate their fatigue, but the sedentary individual will likely have to begin a training program to achieve the very same outcome.