Hundreds of thousands of students in Scotland banned from socialising

Student union says move disregards mental health and ‘applies different rules from the rest of the adult population’

UK set to bring in strict new junk food rules including pre-9pm ad ban

Measures expected to go beyond curbs on advertising to include in-store restriction

Operators of gyms and pools query England’s new lockdown rules

Nightclubs also off limits but pubs can open – prompting accusations of inconsistencies

Obesity is a major risk factor for dying of Covid-19. We need to take it more seriously

Health officials need to emphasize the relation between obesity and Covid-19, and we need to treat it like other chronic diseases

Candice Brathwaite: ‘I’m at the forefront of a discussion that will save women’s lives’

A horrifying experience after the birth of her daughter set the blogger on a mission to make motherhood more inclusive

A letter to my post-lockdown self: ‘Keep listening to the birds’

Author Bernardine Evaristo, broadcaster Hugh Pym, playwright James Graham and more pen letters to themselves, to be opened in May 2021

Thousands lose last hope of having a baby as lockdown closes IVF clinics

Women approaching middle age may be too old for fertility treatment when clinics reopen

The Guardian view on inequality and health: a matter of life and death

Editorial: It is unfair that in England people in different social circumstances experience avoidable differences in health, wellbeing and length of life. But this is a political choice

The great vape debate: are e-cigarettes saving smokers or creating new addicts?

The long read: The US is cracking down on vaping while the UK is promoting e-cigarettes as an aid to giving up smoking. Where does the truth lie?

New mothers in England to receive health check six weeks after giving birth

Campaigners welcome move to assess women for physical and mental wellbeing