• walk or ride part of your journey to work or the shops
• get off a bus or tube stop before your destination
• if you drive, park further away from your office and walk or ride the rest of the way
• go for a walk or a ride with your friend rather than meeting for coffee

• exercise before or after work, or during your lunch break.
• lots of gardening can provide a good workout
• exercise in front of the TV
• try an online video workout

Some charities have their own workouts online, for example the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Get more activity tips.

• yoghurt
• cheese (except soft cheese as the freezing process affects the texture)
• milk
• meat
• fish

• eggs, including boiled eggs
• bananas: peel and wrap them or place in an airtight container before freezing
• baked goods
• rice: read our safety tips
• bread

Anything with a high water content like strawberries and tomatoes will go squishy but are still fine to cook with.

Place food in an airtight container or wrap it tightly in freezer bags or similar before placing in the freezer otherwise the cold air will dry it out.

STORING EGGS

Eggs are best stored in the fridge as they are kept at a constant temperature.

Eggs can also be frozen. Two ways to freeze eggs:

• crack the egg and separate yolks and whites into separate plastic containers or food bags before freezing. This is handy for baking.
• crack the egg into a plastic tub and beat it before freezing – great for omelettes and scrambled eggs.

You can safely store a boiled egg in the fridge for a couple of days. Boiled eggs can also be frozen.

STORING MEAT AND POULTRY

It’s important to store meat safely in the fridge to stop bacteria from spreading and avoid food poisoning.

• Store raw meat and poultry in clean, sealed containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge.
• Follow any storage instructions on the label and don’t eat meat after its use by date.
• Keep cooked meat separate from raw meat and ready-to-eat foods in general.

FREEZING AND DEFROSTING MEAT AND FISH

It’s safe to freeze meat and fish as long as you:

• freeze it any time before its use by date
• defrost meat and fish thoroughly before cooking – lots of liquid will come out as meat thaws, so stand it in a bowl to stop bacteria in the juice spreading to other things
• defrost meat or fish in a microwave if you intend to cook straight away, or if not, defrost in the fridge overnight so it doesn’t get too warm
• cook food until it’s steaming hot throughout

Make sure meat is properly wrapped in the freezer or it might get freezer burn, which can make it tough and inedible.

Date and label meat in the freezer and eat it within 24 hours of defrosting.

You can freeze meat for a long time and it will still be safe to eat, but the quality will deteriorate so it’s best to eat it within three to six months.

Don’t worry if it’s frozen for longer – try marinating it before cooking to improve texture or use herbs and spices to add flavour.

LATE OR EARLY PUBERTY

Children who begin puberty either very early (before the age of 8) or very late (after 14) should see a doctor to rule out an underlying medical condition.

Read more about puberty problems.

This page covers:

• Signs of puberty in girls
• Signs of puberty in boys
• Mood changes during puberty
• Puberty support for children
• Puberty support for parents and carers

FIRST SIGNS OF PUBERTY IN GIRLS

• The first sign of puberty in girls is usually that their breasts begin to develop. It’s normal for breast buds to sometimes be very tender or for one breast to start to develop several months before the other one
• Pubic hair also starts to grow and some girls may notice more hair on their legs and arms.

LATER SIGNS OF PUBERTY IN GIRLS

After a year or so of puberty beginning, and for the next couple of years:

• Girls’ breasts continue to grow and become fuller.
• Around two years after beginning puberty, girls usually have their first period. Read more about starting periods.
• Pubic hair becomes coarser and curlier.
• Underarm hair begins to grow. Some girls also have hair in other parts of their body, such as their top lip. This is completely normal.
• Girls start to sweat more.
• Girls often get acne – a skin condition that shows up as different types of spots including whiteheads, blackheads and pus-filled spots called pustules.
• Girls have a white vaginal discharge.
• Girls go through a growth spurt. From the time their periods start, girls grow 5-7.5 cm (2-3 inches) annually over the next year or two, then reach their adult height.
• Most girls gain weight – and it’s normal for this to happen – as their body shape changes. Girls develop more body fat along their upper arms, thighs and upper back; their hips grow rounder and their waist gets narrower.

AFTER ABOUT FOUR YEARS OF PUBERTY IN GIRLS

• Breasts becomes adult-like.
• Pubic hair has spread to the inner thigh.
• Genitals should now be fully developed.
• Girls stop growing taller.

FIRST SIGNS OF PUBERTY IN BOYS

• The first sign of puberty in boys is usually that their testicles get bigger and the scrotum begins to thin and redden.
• Pubic hair also starts to appear at the base of the penis.

LATER SIGNS OF PUBERTY IN BOYS

After a year or so of puberty starting, and for the next couple of years:

• The penis and testicles grow and the scrotum gradually becomes darker. Read more about penis health.
• Pubic hair becomes thicker and curlier.
• Underarm hair starts to grow.
• Boys start to sweat more.
• Breasts can swell slightly temporarily – this is normal and is not the same as “man-boobs”.
• Boys may have “wet dreams” (involuntary ejaculations of semen as they sleep).
• Their voice “breaks” and gets permanently deeper. For a while, a boy might find his voice goes very deep one minute and very high the next.
• Boys often develop acne – a skin condition that shows up as different types of spots, including whiteheads, blackheads and pus-filled spots called pustules.
• Boys go through a growth spurt and become taller by an average of 7-8cms, or around 3 inches a year, and more muscular.

AFTER ABOUT FOUR YEARS OF PUBERTY IN BOYS

• Genitals look like an adult’s and pubic hair has spread to the inner thighs.
• Facial hair begins to grow and boys may start shaving.
• Boys get taller at a slower rate and stop growing completely at around 16 years of age (but may continue to get more muscular).
• Most boys will have reached full adult maturity by 18 years of age.

MOOD CHANGES IN PUBERTY

Puberty can be a difficult time for children. They’re coping with changes in their body, and possibly acne or body odour as well, at a time when they feel self-conscious.

Puberty can also be an exciting time, as children develop new emotions and feelings. But the “emotional rollercoaster” they’re on can have psychological and emotional effects, such as:

• unexplained mood swings
• low self-esteem
• aggression
• depression

For more information on what to expect and how to handle puberty-related mood changes, read our articles on teen aggression, coping with your teenager and talking to your teen.

PUBERTY SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN

If children are worried or confused about any part of puberty, it may help them to talk to a close friend or relative.

• ChildLine’s website answers boys’ common questions about puberty and girls’ common questions about puberty. It also offers free and confidential advice on its telephone helpline, which can be reached on 0800 1111. Children can also look at its puberty message board for girls and puberty message board for boys to see what other young people are asking about.
• 4You is a leaflet for boys and girls that explains body changes at puberty, sex and how babies are made, in a down-to-earth way.
• “Periods – what you need to know” is an FPA (formerly the Family Planning Association) leaflet that is helpful for older girls who are just about to or have just started their periods.
• Contact a Family’s booklet “Growing up, sex and relationships” is for disabled children.

WILL E-CIGARETTES HELP ME STOP SMOKING?

Research shows that e-cigarettes can help you give up smoking.

If you want to use an e-cigarette to help you quit, you’ll give yourself the best chance if you get expert support from your local NHS stop smoking service. In the year up to April 2015, two out of three people who used e-cigarettes in combination with the NHS stop smoking service quit smoking successfully.

Find your nearest NHS stop smoking service on the NHS Smokefree website, or call the Smokefree National Helpline to speak to a trained adviser on 0300 123 1044.

Different things work for different people and, particularly if you’ve already tried other methods of quitting smoking without success, you might want to give e-cigarettes a go.

Read more about stopping smoking using e-cigarettes.

E-CIGARETTES ON PRESCRIPTION

Currently, there are no e-cigarettes on the market that are licensed as medicines, which means they are not available on prescription from the NHS.

Once medicinally licensed e-cigarette products come onto the market, GPs and stop smoking services will be able to prescribe them alongside other stop smoking medicines.

Read about other stop smoking treatments.

ARE E-CIGARETTES SAFE?

E-cigarettes do not produce tar and carbon monoxide – two of the main toxins in conventional cigarette smoke. The vapour from e-cigarettes has been found to contain some potentially harmful chemicals also found in cigarette smoke, but at much lower levels.

E-cigarettes are still fairly new and we won’t have a full picture on their safety until they have been in use for many years. However, according to current evidence on e-cigarettes, they carry a fraction of the risk of cigarettes.

New rules for e-cigarettes and their refill containers came into effect in the UK on May 20 2016. These rules ensure that there are minimum standards for the safety and quality of all e-cigarettes and refill containers.

POSSIBLE SAFETY CONCERNS

There are two types of safety concerns associated with e-cigarettes:

• a fault with the e-cigarette device that could make it unsafe to use
• side effects to your health caused by using your e-cigarette

It’s important that any e-cigarette safety concerns are reported and monitored, which you can do through the Yellow Card Scheme.

HOW TO PROTECT AGAINST SECONDHAND SMOKE

The only way to protect your friends and family from secondhand smoke is to keep the environment around them smoke free.

The best way to do that is to quit smoking completely. If you’re not ready to quit, make every effort to keep your cigarette smoke away from other people and never smoke indoors or in the car.

• always smoke outside
• ask your visitors to smoke outside
• don’t smoke in the car or allow anyone else to

Take steps NOW to stop smoking.

THE RISKS OF PASSIVE SMOKING

Secondhand smoke is a lethal cocktail of more than 4,000 irritants, toxins and cancer-causing substances.

Most secondhand smoke is invisible and odourless, so no matter how careful you think you’re being, people around you still breathe in the harmful poisons.

Opening windows and doors or smoking in another room in the house doesn’t protect people. Smoke can linger in the air for two to three hours after you’ve finished a cigarette, even with a window open. And even if you limit smoking to one room, the smoke will spread to the rest of the house where people can inhale it.

Is passive smoking harmful?

Read about stop smoking treatments.

CHILDREN AND PASSIVE SMOKING

Passive smoking is especially harmful for children as they have less well-developed airways, lungs and immune systems.

It’s estimated that more than one in five children in the UK live in a household where at least one person smokes and, as a result, they’re more likely to develop:

• asthma
• chest infections – like pneumonia and bronchitis
• meningitis
• ear infections
• coughs and colds

Children are particularly vulnerable in the family car where secondhand smoke can reach hazardous levels even with the windows open.

It’s estimated that smoking in cars produces concentrations of toxins up to 11 times higher than you used to find in the average smoky pub.

To protect children, there is a new ban on smoking in cars and other vehicles carrying children. From October 1 2015 it is against the law to smoke in a private vehicle if there’s a young person under-18 present.

Read about the new law on smoking in private vehicles.

HOW SAFE IS E-CIG VAPOUR?

E-cigarettes don’t produce tobacco smoke so the risks of passive smoking with conventional cigarettes don’t apply to e-cigs.

Research into this area is ongoing, but it seems that e-cigs release negligible amounts of nicotine into the atmosphere and the limited evidence available suggests that any risk from passive vaping to bystanders is small relative to tobacco cigarettes.

In England, the Government has no plans to ban vaping indoors (although some employers have banned them in the workplace) but some health professionals recommend avoiding using them around pregnant women, babies and children.

Read about the safety of e-cigarettes.

Your GP can give you advice about quitting smoking.

BREAST CANCER SCREENING

Screening for breast cancer is currently offered on the NHS to women aged 50-70 in England. However, it’s in the process of being extended as a trial to some women aged 47-73.

Breast screening uses an X-ray test called a mammogram that can spot cancers when they are too small to see or feel.

This short video explains what happens when you have a mammogram.

It’s your choice whether to have breast screening, but bear in mind that most experts believe it’s beneficial in picking up breast cancer early.

If you’re over 70, you’ll stop receiving screening invitations through the post, but you can still carry on with screening if you want to. To arrange an appointment, contact your local breast screening unit.

Find breast screening units in your area.

Read more about breast cancer screening.

DENSE BREASTS

Young women who have not yet gone through the menopause often have what’s known as dense breasts.

Dense breasts contain more glandular and less fat tissue than usual. It’s not the same as having firm breasts and it has nothing to do with how big or what shape your breasts are.

Having dense breasts isn’t abnormal and it’s not something that you can change, but a potential drawback is that dense breasts can make breast cancer screening more difficult, because the dense tissue can mask potential tumours on a mammogram.

Breast tissue tends to become less dense as you get older, especially after the menopause, so it becomes easier to detect breast cancers on a mammogram.

BREAST LUMPS

Breast lumps are common around the menopause. They’re usually cysts, which are harmless lumps filled with fluid. But if you notice a lump, don’t wait to be offered screening – see your GP, to rule out breast cancer.

Breast cancer is most common in women over 50. Other warning signs of breast cancer include:

• puckering of the skin
• nipple changes (like scaling or discharge)
• a swollen, red or “inflamed” breast

Read more about breast lumps.

WOMEN OVER 70

Women over 70 are particularly at risk of breast cancer, because a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer increases with age. Don’t assume that because you’re in your 70s or older that you’re in the clear. Always report any unusual breast symptoms to your doctor.

Find out how to spot breast lumps.

Gas central heating may be turned off in the summer, but your boiler is still being used for hot water and, perhaps, you use a gas cooker.

Remember the barbecue, too, which is often gas. More than 40% of us own a gas barbecue and 30% of us use it weekly to produce simple meals to enjoy outdoors.

HOW DO APPLIANCES CAUSE CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas produced when fuel such as gas (or charcoal or petrol) burns incompletely. Inadequately installed or poorly maintained appliances and boilers increase the risk of carbon monoxide being produced.

You can’t see, taste or smell carbon monoxide. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that last year 319 people were killed or injured due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

It is important to look out for the warning signs of carbon monoxide poisoning and to seek urgent medical attention from your GP or accident and emergency department.

It is not always possible to check gas appliances for signs they are not working properly, such as lazy yellow flames instead of crisp blue ones. It is better to ensure that all gas appliances are checked annually by a Gas Safe engineer.

GAS SAFETY CHECKLIST

If you are going on holiday in the UK or abroad, follow these tips to protect yourself and your family:

• All gas appliances, including gas barbecues, should be given an annual safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
• By law, all gas appliances in rented properties in the UK, whether a long-term rental or short-term holiday let, must have an annual safety check. This also applies to motorhomes and caravans. Ask to see the current gas safety record.
• Never use a smouldering or lit barbecue (gas or charcoal), gas or paraffin stove, light or heater in a tent, caravan, motorhome or under an awning unless it is a permanent fixture that has been installed and maintained correctly.
• Make sure you know how to use any gas appliances, including barbecues. This is to help prevent the risk of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Fit a carbon monoxide alarm in your home, preferably one that emits an audible signal. Make sure it is approved to the latest British or European Standard (BS Kitemark or EN 50291). Take a portable one with you on holiday and, particularly when taking it abroad, make sure it will work at your destination.