Up Front 01/14

By the time these words have made the transition from computer screen to the printed page, Christmas will be over. Prayers will have been said, presents opened, turkeys eaten and the gleeful squeals of Christmas crackers being pulled will be a faded echo in a distant recess. It’ll be time to think of New Year’s resolutions (and for those of you that haven’t picked up a copy of this magazine until after New Year’s Day, it’ll be time to try to remember what those resolutions were). The most common New Year’s resolutions include: Drinking less, quitting smoking, getting more organised and learning a new skill. I do remember one year deciding that I would learn two new skills every year—I know I never managed a second one and I now can’t remember what the first one was. However the most common of the New Year’s resolution is to eat healthier. News from a recent Oxford University study was released just in time for most of us to take heed and perhaps add it to our list of plans for 2014. ‘Eat an Apple a Day’ is the advice from lead researcher Dr Adam Briggs of the BHF Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University. Using mathematical models, Dr Briggs and his colleagues calculated that prescribing an apple a day to all adults aged 50 and over in the UK would prevent around 8,500 deaths from heart attacks and strokes every year. “The Victorians had it about right when they came up with their brilliantly clear and simple public health advice: ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’” he said. What a great idea. I’ve already put a sign on our fruit bowl saying ‘Over 50s only’ and my next step is to do a little research into how many apples go into a pint of our local cider—there may be some benefit to having something in the cupboard in case we run out of apples. On second thoughts, perhaps the sign on the fruit bowl is a little unfair on the children. Happy New Year to all.