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.

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.

A. Energy density means the ratio of kilojoules/calories you get from a given weight or volume of a food. It's really how many kilojoules/calories you can fit into a mouthful!

I first wrote about how I hated selling chocolate to raise money for our kids’ school back in 2008 and it really hit a nerve with my readers. I used to get so angry when one of our children would arrive home with a huge box of chocolate bars for me to sell. Once I clapped my eyes on that familiar box (with its soft-sell message of “fundraising chocolate” on each bar), I’d feel my blood pressure start to shoot up! Not many things upset me but this is one that’s guaranteed to make my blood boil!

Have you ever tried to find the exact list of ingredients for Nutella online? The identical one that appears on its label - in descending order from the first (largest ingredient by weight) to the last ingredient, as required by food law? Well, you won’t find it! Here’s the hoop-la I went through to discover exactly what the ingredients in Nutella are and why Nutella is not good for your kids.

From 1 February 2011, all major NSW fast food chains were required to display the kilojoule (calorie) counts of their food with the same prominence as the price. For instance, the Grand Angus has 2780 kilojoules (see picture right). This “in-your-face” information is designed to make consumers take stock of what they, and their children, are eating.

Should everyday vegetables like carrots or broccoli be marketed the same way as fries? Do vegies need to be 'fun' if we want our kids to swallow them? Or should they just eat what they're given? It's a tricky issue for parents and food educators.

Yummm! There's something so enticing about the aroma of hot chips on a cold winter's day that it's hard to say No. Whether straight-cut, crinkle-cut, fries or wedges, Australians consume a staggering 250 million serves of chips each year. They are the standard accompaniment to most fast food and also to kids' meals at restaurants.