My quest for the body beautiful

Three months ago, Stephen Moss felt overweight, unfit and unhealthy. So he agreed to embark on an intensive fitness regime. In his final report, he describes how exercise and a diet have made a new man of him

Shape-up time

I have passed the first test. Often when I go through Waterloo at midnight I fall prey to temptation - a burger, a baguette, a limp pain au chocolat. But not tonight - tonight it is an orange juice, because this is the first day of the rest of my life. I have acquired a personal trainer and together we are strong.

Why dieting makes you fat

Almost half the female population of the UK is trying to lose weight, but a new study shows that obsessive calorie-counting leads to obesity. Lucy Atkins reports on how slimming can distort both your mind and your body

Not long for the real world

Soap operas are mirrors into real life - or so scriptwriters would have us believe. But if they were, some of the characters should look, and sound, a lot less healthy. Dot Cotton, the loveable old crone from EastEnders, should be hacking her lungs up, and Fitz from Cracker should have turned yellow and flapped his hands uncontrollably from liver failure, brought on by drinking too much. In fact Fitz could have been a one-man health education message - being overweight, a heavy smoker, drinker and sex enthusiast.