Sally Gunnell’s guide to all-round health

Looking good in the mirror is all very well, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re really fit and healthy. Smoking, drinking, crash diets and a lack of exercise take their toll in the long run – and this will usually affect our health before our looks.

The 21st Century Breakfast for British Schoolchildren

British kids are going to school on a junk food breakfast of sweets, snacks and fizzy drinks and parents admit they can’t do anything about it.  According to new research £646 million is being spent each year by sweet-toothed kids buying biscuits, cake and meat snacks on the way to school with around one quarter of 7-14 year olds admitting to regular early morning junk food binges.

While a staggering one in every class of 14 year olds say they go to school on a cigarette, according to the landmark report published by Kellogg’s to coincide with National Breakfast Week.

Other findings include: half a million kids eat biscuits for their morning meal, 160,000 have a bag of crisps and more than 100,000 just have a fizzy drink.

Nutritionists warn this is storing up trouble for the class room, leading to loss of concentration and poor discipline. Public health nutritionist, Kathy Cowbrough, who was involved with the government’s Sure Start Centres, said:

“How often have we all seen young children not wanting to cooperate with harassed parents, or school children unable to stay alert for valuable lessons at school?

“This is because missing a decent breakfast means we can be saying goodbye to up to a quarter of the nutrients and energy we need for the day, making

Arthritis is often thought of as a condition that affects only older people. Yet in fact 27,000 young people under 25 live with the disease in the UK. About three quarters of children who get ongoing arthritis are girls, most often developing their symptoms between the ages of two and six.

Breast milk is nature’s way of providing the best nutrition to a new born. The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding to babies for the first six months after birth. There are a number of reasons why mothers should breastfeed their babies, some more important than others. Here are 10 important reasons which should encourage non-breastfeeding moms to start breastfeeding their baby right away.

National disabled children’s charity, Newlife Foundation, has been struck by the social media bug with new online networks and communities cropping up on facebook, Twitter and YouTube. 

How hygienic is your house?

The kitchen tap is dirtier than the toilet seat when it comes to bacterial contamination according to a new study.

Arthritis affects people of all ages. Watching what you eat could help ease joint discomfort

Arthritis in its various forms affects 4.3 million women and 2.6 million men in the UK – but more than six in ten of us will suffer from the condition at some point in our lives. Arthritis causes pain, loss of mobility and in chronic cases irreversible destruction of joints throughout the body.

Interestingly research has found that when it comes to inheritance, the majority of us would actually prefer to be left sentimental keepsakes than money. So whilst a quarter of us would prefer to leave money for loved ones in our later years, only 16% of us want to receive it.

Here are just a few of the reasons more people than ever are eating avocados:

• Avocados contain 12 of the 13 known vitamins, and several minerals
• Half a medium avocado (72 grams) contains just 137 calories, 50% less than a plain bagel – it also counts as one of your five-a-day portions
• Gram for gram an avocado contains almost twice the amount of cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated (or ‘good’) fat as salmon
• Avocados contain 12.5% more potassium than the sportsperson’s favourite – bananas
• An avocado makes a mouth-watering ‘hero ingredient’ in a salad, sandwich or mixed into cheese and melted on toast

Some deliciously healthy and deliciously easy recipes to try:

Simple steps to cut dangerous saturated fat intake can reduce serious health risks.

Click on the video link to find out how to implement changes in your daily diet.

With less than 8 weeks to go until the kids break up from school and the summer holidays officially begin - millions of us are already getting our bodies ship-shape for the beach. But while this may be boosting self esteem and giving us a much needed feel-good factor, we should also consider the impact our diet can have on the inside, where it really counts.

All newborn babies and children up to four years old will have their growth measurements plotted on new charts from this week.

Seven out of ten young people in school or college suffer from regular headaches and many of them have to take time out of lessons, reports the charity the Migraine Trust.

Sometimes schools and parents don’t take it seriously, but migraine can be really painful and can really affect children and young people’s school attendance and attainment, their future job prospects and their leisure time.