He describes his dancing style as ‘ambitious… if not always well executed’.
But Strictly Come Dancing hopeful Reverend Richard Coles has a bigger mountain to climb than learning his steps having vowed to shed more than two stone during the contest.
The 55-year-old former pop star, who had hits with 1980s group The Communards, says: ‘I had a medical before the show and that was an experience of bitter disappointment.’
The writer, broadcaster and C of E priest says: ‘I am absolutely fine health-wise, apart from being almost obese, having arthritis in both knees, tinnitus in both ears and a wonky eye.’
Rev Coles, host of Radio 4’s Saturday Live, added: ‘I want to lose the weight. But I have eaten a lot of pork pies in my career so there is a long way to go.’
Strictly Come Dancing hopeful Reverend Richard Coles (pictured with fellow contestant Gemma Atkinson) has vowed to shed more than two stone during the contest
Half of UK adults admit to having their boiler serviced more than once in the past two years – but failing to have their eyes tested at all, according to a new report by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Specsavers.
Almost six million people in the UK live with sight-threatening conditions, yet 25 per cent of people are not having the recommended two-yearly eye test.
TV presenter Anne Robinson is supporting RNIB’s eye-test campaign after her father struggled with sight loss. Having ignored his problems for years, he needed surgery for cataracts. Anne said: ‘He’d missed out on reading newspapers and books, but with the cataracts gone he could read comfortably again.’
Outdoor play is as effective in tackling child attention disorders as drugs, a study has found.
Researchers measured attention and other factors in pre-school children, and looked at the amount of time spent outside. Those attending day care who spent more time outdoors showed fewer inattention-hyperactivity symptoms at ages four, five, six and seven.
‘For some children, high doses of nature may be an effective alternative to medication,’ said the researchers from the universities of Oslo, Montreal and Quebec. They said nature may help the brain to relax. ‘The outdoors allows for restoration of attention resources that have been depleted by noise and other distractions.’
Outdoor play is as effective in tackling child attention disorders as drugs, a study has found
A mobile app that offers couples therapy claims to be able to improve their happiness by 30 per cent in just 21 days. The newly launched We Did It app claims to be the first of its kind for analysing relationships and giving advice on how to improve them.
Users complete a questionnaire to rate their satisfaction with levels of communication and quality of time spent with their partner, and even amount of physical intimacy. Both partners’ answers are used to give a ‘relationship potential’ score. The higher the score, the more harmonious the relationship.
The app suggests a range of activities or discussion points that might improve areas of weakness in the relationship. Peeter Lange, managing director of app developers Olento Life Ltd, said: ‘We wanted to create a fun and accessible tool for increasing couples’ happiness to act as a counterweight to the dating services on the market.’
Normal weight was defined as a body mass index, or BMI, of 18.5 to 25, and underweight at below 18.5, while overweight BMI was more than 25
Being underweight as well as overweight can shorten your life.
That’s according to a new study, based on nearly 300,000 people tracked for more than 30 years, showing that the obese, overweight or underweight were more likely to die early. US researchers compared death risk with weight, taking into account factors such as age, education, smoking and alcohol use.
Normal weight was defined as a body mass index, or BMI, of 18.5 to 25, and underweight at below 18.5, while overweight BMI was more than 25.
Results showed the underweight and overweight had a ten per cent greater risk of dying during the three decades. Highest risk was among those with a BMI of 40 or more, who were 2.7 times more likely to die early.