Free cookery classes and fitness classes on the NHS...

In a bid to tackle the country's obesity crisis, the NHS have revealed they are going to start offering Brits free cookery classes and exercise classes. A radical new programme to help prevent the rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes, which is closely linked to obesity, it is set to be trailed in Birmingham, Bradford, Durham, Herefordshire, Kent, Manchester and London, and analysed, before it is introduced nationally.

NHS staff, including doctors and nurses, are being included in the scheme, with the head of health service stating that the NHS need to 'practice what they preach' and slim down themselves, before tackling the rest of the country's waistlines.

GPs will start to offer tests for pre-diabetes to those overweight patients, as well as free cookery lessons, exercise classes and online coaching to encourage weight loss. The trial scheme at Britain's largest hospital will be where thousands of staff are offered free Slimming World classes, and those who are classed as obese could be offered help from psychologists and specialist dieticians.

Preventing obesity can cut diabetes and save lives, and so rather than dealing with the effects of obesity and diabetes, it makes sense to spend time and money educating people on healthy living and ways of slimming down.

Around 2.5 million people in England suffer from type 2 diabetes, and that number is set to rise if nothing is done to educate people on how to live a healthier lifestyle.

If the programme goes well, it will be rolled out into other cities across the UK; watch this space!

Wear it. Beat it.

Two weeks today, join people across the nation in wearing red to support the British Heart Foundation. Wearing red shows a stand of support for all those with heart conditions, and by getting involved and fundraising, you can help raise funds to go towards the life-saving research of the British Heart Foundation. With one in four people lost to heart and circulatory diseases, money for research is key to helping find cures and better ways of treatment.

You can sign up now for your free fundraising pack, and throw a fundraising event at work or in your local community, encouraging people to stand together in support of heart disease research. As well as wearing red, there are a number of other ideas of ways to raise money for the cause. These include holding quizzes, raffles, red-themed movie nights, red-themed meals, red cake sales, the possibilities are endless! Why not get involved and help raise money for a great cause by sending off for your fundraising pack now? You've still got two weeks to spread the word and plan for your event, and original ideas can also be used- just make sure there's an element of red involved!

Click here to visit the website for more information, and to download your very own fundraising pack.

World Water Day

World Water Day has been a National day since 1993, when it was initiated by the UN. The day is set apart to focus on water issues across the world. This year, the key aims are to raise awareness of the links between energy and water through a variety of ways. The day focusses on water, sanitation and improving water and electricity efficiencies, to name a few. The focus on energy and water has been especially outlined by the findings from the World Water Development Report, which found that it is often the same people who lack access to improved water sources and sanitation who also lack access to electricity.

Events will be happening all over the world today, all with the aim of coming together to think about and work on ways of improving peoples' health and lifestyle through their ability to get clean and safe water. Around 780 million people lack access to clean water, that's one in nine of the whole population, and more than 3.4 million die each year from issues linked to water, sanitation and hygiene. This proves the need for action, and this is what World Water Day aims to do, in raising awareness and coming up with action plans to help people have access to the most basic of human needs.