At home with his teenage daughter the star reveals to Lucy Chesterton that he wants more kids! Teenager Taylor Durie has a distinct American twang as she talks about her favourite Hollywood hangouts. But standing next to her famous dad, Jamie Durie, Taylor’s down-to-earth Aussie roots still shine through. Although she lives across the street […]

A new Australian study had found that almost half of school-aged children are snacking on sugar- and fat-laden foods after school. The CSIRO Preventative Health Flagship report, commissioned by Unilever Australia, found that almost half of Australian children, aged five to eight, consume biscuits, pastries and cakes in the after-school period, while 17 percent snack […]

It always feels good when you laugh so hard that you’re gasping for air. And, it usually fills us with an incredible sense of joy when we’ve shared that laughter with others. But laughter can also give us health benefits beyond feeling like we’ve given our lungs a good workout. Research shows that laughter is […]

One of the main reasons people are concerned about the welfare of the environment is to leave the world in good shape for future generations. But what can we teach our children to help them care for the environment? Interestingly, our food choices play a big part in caring for the environment and are something […]

One in five people will experience depression in their lifetime. It can be anything from a serious depressive period that lasts at least two weeks (major depression) to a less severe low mood that lasts for years (dysthymia). It can run in families, but difficult life circumstances are more likely to bring on a bout. […]

While chemists’ shelves bulge with expensive weight-loss treatments, researchers have discovered that something as simple and cheap as drinking two glasses of water before every meal could be just as effective when trying to slim down. Instead of messing with your hormones or playing with your body’s chemistry, this weight-loss technique is childishly straightforward: the […]

The cliché of a moment on the lips meaning a lifetime on the hips has been given credence by a new Swedish study that shows that even short periods of binge eating can leave the body more susceptible to weight gain for years to come. Previous studies have linked weight-gain to the ageing process, but […]

Two young lovers – one Indian, one Welsh – fall in love, sparking a lifetime of challenges, children and courageous rebellion, with a vow to “rattle the cage of the world”. The Salman Rushdie endorsement on the cover does this charming, gentle love story a disservice. Not because it isn’t “captivating”, as Rushdie notes – […]

Indelible Ink, BY FIONA MCGREGOR, SCRIBE, $32.95 A late-life divorce leaves Marie King with a large house on Sydney’s North Shore, a horribly judgmental brood of adult children and a growing dependence on white goods and alcohol. So far, so predictable – until the day, on impulse, she gets her first tattoo. Then another. She […]

NOMAD , BY AYAAN HIRSI ALI, HARPERCOLLINS, $35. Just 40 years old this year, Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali has already lived many lives: the dutiful Muslim daughter, who was hideously “circumcised” at five; the young woman who fled from an arranged marriage; and the conservative Dutch politician. Ali has been called brave, but also a […]