As the dominant race on earth mankind has certainly achieved a great deal in the few thousand years. But with the current sedentary lifestyle we lead, we are spoiled for choice and have too many ways of being comfortable. Imagine how odd the concept of going to a gym would be to a farm worker of 200 years ago!

I think we can look at the lifestyle we have today and identify a few problem areas. One is the availability of food, and the huge number of choices we have when it comes to eating.

Food producers bombard us with information and stimulus to buy their product, the health food industry has sprung up in the last 70 years to supply more information and more products. It is easy to see how it can become confusing. The sensible thing to do is to eat natural food and be wary of processed food stuff.

Portion size is a real problem too, eating slowly and allowing your food to reach your stomach is a good idea, allows you to feel full and satisfied without over eating and feeling uncomfortable.

Exercise was hardly necessary in the olden days; imagine washing your clothes by hand or chopping a tree down, into logs then carting them home. Compare this to what we do today- adjusting the thermostat then settling down in front of the TV! Thus it becomes necessary to be as active as possible in our day-to-day lives.

You can be a foodie and still not be overweight. How do you do that? Just make sure you eat a little every time you eat. Remind yourself that being overweight puts a strain on every internal organ, every joint and makes it harder to be fully active