NEW YEAR, NEW YOU
From weight to sleep and sex – The Sun’s Health Kick surveys the nation’s health and reveals how YOU can hit new goals
Also, our resident GP Dr Zoe Williams gives her diagnosis of readers’ overall health
ARE you desperate to improve your health in 2025 – but cannot stand the idea of New Year’s resolutions?
You’re not alone.
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Every year, as part of our Health Kick series, we ask Sun readers about the state of their health — from the conditions you live with to the things that worry you the most.
Our aim? To find out what’s bothering you so we can help.
This year, almost 70 per cent of readers want to kickstart a healthier New Year, but we know how daunting it can be.
Unhealthy habits
We know life is more expensive than ever and that it’s almost impossible to find the time to put your health and wellbeing first.
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That’s why, through January, we’re taking it back to basics.
We will be sharing a whole host of simple and sustainable tips to help you make small changes to your lifestyle that will reap major benefits.
Casting her expert eye over all of this year’s survey results, which show changes from 2022 or, more commonly, 2023, our resident GP, Dr Zoe Williams, gives her diagnosis of readers’ overall health.
She says: “We haven’t seen a significant change in the general health of readers over the past three years and this isn’t really surprising because the same challenges have been ongoing, such as cost of living, lack of access to healthy foods, and, for many, busy and stressful lives.
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“Time constraints, health issues, and financial barriers are the most commonly cited obstacles.
“Despite these challenges, motivations to exercise remain strong, driven by the desire to improve health, manage weight, and enhance mental wellbeing.
Two-minute ad break workout
“Many people do attempt to make changes year on year but sustaining habits long-term is really, really hard. People lose motivation when they’re not seeing results they’d hoped for.
“My advice is not to make too many changes at once, and to make changes gradually so that they are achievable and sustainable long-term.
“For example, rather than commit to going to the gym three times a week, try building exercise into the school run or work commute. Aim to do ten minutes of movement regularly, and build from there.
“It’s also about having a positive reason for making changes, as we can see from the survey.
“Many people are motivated to exercise by losing weight. But shifting the motivation towards improving mental wellbeing and taking notice of how you feel after exercising may be a better way to sustain positive health behaviours long-term.”
It’s not just our physical health, but our mental health that we have to look after, as our survey results show increasing worries across the board.
Dr Zoe says: “Mental ill health and its impact on work and family life is becoming more of an issue.
“This is especially so in younger people, those under 44 and those with children, and this is definitely something that has been reflected in the patients that I have seen.”
Make changes
Sleep issues, triggered by personal health and money worries, continue to plague many people, too.
But we’re not bound to the unhealthy habits that hold us back — we can change them.
And with more people than ever worried about diseases such as dementia and cancer, it’s down to us to grab our health by the horns and make changes.
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If you have health questions, please just email us at [email protected].
In the meantime, here’s how our health shapes up . . .
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