Research by Catherine Law of University College London shows that children of working mothers lead unhealthier lifestyles than where the mother does not work. Most women work nowadays, so the report refers to the majority of us.

What are the things that constitute an unhealthy lifestyle, according to this report. Well, it is the things that I bang on about, which are bad for all of us because they make us gain weight, and which are marketed actively at adults and children alike - sugary drinks, crisps, snacks. None of us need them, even though they are nice (they are designed by experts to be nice!) And working mums, short of time, drive the kids to school, reducing their activity levels. The research refers to unemployed woman, so they could be stay-at-home mums, who choose not to work, and presumably have enough income to do so - but they could be women on unemployment or other benefit, whose income is so low that they can't afford to buy pop and crisps every day. The other thing was that children of working mothers are less active and pass this habit on by driving their children to work. Women lead busy lives. Perhaps we ought to all get a bit more active and spend less time in front of the telly so they can lose weight. I think the research could be clearer here. There was no mention of the role of the dad in this research, by the way. What was he doing?

Sweets too are a problem. Cardiff University research shows that eating sweets everyday in childhood is linked to adult aggression. They haven't identified why. But we already know that certain foods cause hyperactivity in our children. We are lucky in this generation to have generally more cash, and we give treats to our children every day - so they become part of our normal diet. Perhaps our grannies who kept the biscuit tin and the sweetie jar hidden till Sunday were doing the right thing by us after all.