HEALTH

Most adults will gain half a kilo this year – and every year. Here’s how to stop ‘weight creep’ Allgo/Unsplash As we enter a new year armed with resolutions to improve our lives, there’s a good chance we’ll also be carrying something less helpful: extra kilos. At least half a kilogram, to be precise. “Weight creep” doesn’t have to be inevitable. Here’s what’s behind this sneaky annual occurrence and some practical steps to prevent it. Small gains add up Adults tend to gain weight progressively as they age and typically gain an average of 0.5 to 1kg every year. While this doesn’t seem like much each year, it amounts to 5kg over a decade. The slow-but-steady nature of weight creep is why many of us won’t notice the extra weight gained until we’re in our fifties. Why do w...

You wake up late having slept poorly, the hot water's gone cold, the kids are moody and so are you. Life is struggle and everything's turning out just great thank you very much! We all have them. Nothing we do seems to hide the fact; it's not our day. We play just as hard and just as fair as any other day -- or at least it feels that way -- but it won't make any difference. We must plainly recognise unlucky days and deal with them best by being gentle with ourselves. This below is several hundred-year-old advice of Balthasar Gracian, the Jesuit priest and philosopher: Recognize Unlucky Days - "They exist: nothing goes well on them; even though the game may be changed the ill-luck remains. Two tries should be enough to tell if one is in luck to-day or not. Everything is in process of cha...

Don’t feel bad about bingeing TV. Humans have binged stories for thousands of years. Last night, millions of people will have tuned into Netflix and other streaming services to binge their favourite shows, including the (much anticipated) second part of Bridgerton season three. Streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Stan and Prime Video have habituated us to the “all at once” series drop. And even as some services try to find ways to break the binge model, many commentators have bid farewell to the “the good old days” of appointment viewing. Meanwhile, experts have highlighted the health concerns associated with “problematic bingeing”, including increased anxiety and depression. But there’s an important detail missing in these conversations. And that is the fact that bingeing –...