Watch what you eat

Make small changes in your dietary habits and you'll see big results. Reduce your fat and salt intake especially.

Processed foods have become popular because few of us have the time to produce tasty meals when we get home. But you can work around this - prepare a nutritious and tasty meal at the weekend and freeze portions of it for the week. This way you will have more control over what you and your family are eating.

Aim to have five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, two portions of protein and six portions of carbohydrates. A portion is basically what you can hold in your hand. Drink water rather than fizzy drinks and be conscious of how much alcohol you consume on a weekly basis.

Be physically active

Get your heart rate up at least three times a week for at least 20 minutes each time. It can be walking the dog, walking to the shops, taking the stairs instead of the lift, gardening, or even washing your car. Anything that gets you out of breath for a sustained period is good.

Even better, though, is committing yourself to a good training routine. Running is one of the easiest and cheapest forms of exercise. It costs nothing but the price of a good pair of running shoes and your local running club will be happy to supply you with a training programme.

If you decide to join a gym, start slowly. People often join the gym with great expectations, try to achieve too much in the first week and then never go back. Speak to the trainers at the gym and ask for assistance and supervision - that's what they are there for.

Stop smoking

Smoking is harmful to every organ and system in the body. Each cigarette contains more than 4000 toxic chemicals, including cadmium (used in the production of batteries and metal coatings), benzene (a component of petrol) and formaldehyde (used as a glue and a preservative).

Most people are aware of the dangers of smoking, however, and yet are so addicted that they feel helpless to stop.

But it's worth bearing in mind that every cigarette that you smoke will shorten your life by about five minutes, usually the time you've taken to smoke it.

The list of diseases caused by smoking is endless: lung cancer, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and heart disease amongst others.

Do your body a favour and get onto a quit smoking programme, it's one of the best things that you can do for your own health and for the health of those around you.