A. Often it’s just as hard to put on weight as it is to lose weight, particularly if you come from a family with a tall slender build which you’ve no doubt inherited. On the plus side, as you get older, your skinny build will become an advantage as you’re less likely to succumb to heart troubles or diabetes, conditions which are aggravated by being overweight.

Sugar. It's been labelled "deadly", "addictive", "toxic", "sweet poison" and blamed for the rise in global obesity in recent years." Get rid of the white toxin from your diet and you'll free up your body to drop those excess kilos" (or so say anti-sugar campaigners Sarah Wilson, David Gillespie and Robert Lustig). Here are the three real reasons why I believe quitting sugar helps you lose weight.

Meeting up at the bar or pub? Sharing a drink with friends? These are the times when you notice salty snacks everywhere – potato crisps, corn chips, beer nuts, cashews, pretzels and rice cracker snacks. Salty snacks fly under the radar – no one remembers eating them. Yet they’re a big problem for health and may explain why you can’t lose weight. Here’s my take on them.

Wondering how healthy your weight or shape is? Here are the two most often-used ways to assess your weight and body shape - the Body Mass Index (BMI) and the waist circumference, which is used as the basis of the current 'Measure Up' education campaign run by the Australian government.

The study of dietetics is concerned with the prevention and treatment of a variety of food related diseases. Dietitians interpret scientific knowledge about food in relation to healthor an ilness and translate it into practical information to help people eat better or manage their condition via a special diet eg gluten-free diet or diabetic diet.