Time for a noodle tax? Doctor who sounded alarm on ultra-processed food urges tougher action

Carlos Monteiro says the links between UPF and obesity, diabetes and even mental ill health are so strong that manufacturers should face taxes just like tobacco firms

My report on the NHS diagnosed its dire condition. Now here’s the cure

Making healthy life expectancy central to all government policy is the surest way of stemming demand on the health service, says surgeon and former health minister Lord Darzi

New screening trial could save thousands from prostate cancer

The £42m Transform project aims to find the best way to catch the disease in men in its early stages

Calls for return of Churchill’s national restaurant service to tackle food inequality

Public diners as seen in 1940s Britain – offering nutritious meals at reasonable prices – should be everyday eating places, says MP-backed report

‘Women feel like failures if they haven’t had a “normal” birth’: how the NCT has shaped childbirth in the UK

It was founded to promote natural deliveries and has become Britain’s biggest and most influential antenatal charity – but did its policies harm some mothers and babies?

‘Is this how I die?’ John Crace on his terrifying heart attack

The Guardian’s sketchwriter spent four days in hospital this month fearing for his life. He writes about his pain and terror – and the people who put him back together

Ignore the rightwing moaners. We don’t have 9m shirkers – they just want better work

A wild west labour market and millions of people on NHS waiting lists are responsible for the ballooning benefits bill, not idleness

Europe’s champion sitters: even the sporty Dutch are falling victim to ‘chair-use disorder’

Long hours spent at desks and sofas leads to 21,000 deaths a year in the Netherlands from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer

Investors are making a fortune from UK healthcare. Why is nobody holding private equity to account?

From care homes to cancer treatment, millions in taxpayer funds are being paid out of the system every year, says David Rowland, director of the Centre for Health and the Public Interest

The Guardian view on the privatisation of health: outsourcing will not save the NHS

Editorial: Buying care from the private sector brings short-term relief, but it won’t solve the problem of underfunding