Scots die younger than anyone else in the UK. For many of us, work is less active, hobbies more sedentary, our lives are more stressful and sleep is harder to come by. While the damage is devastating, it is never too late to make a change – and this series sets out to prove it. In each episode, two volunteers undergo a full health MOT before being 'Laid Bare' on a slab where Dr Punam Krishan reveals the damage that they are doing to themselves. A team of medics then give them a tailored health plan to turn things around – but can they stick to the programme, and will they improve their health before they are retested eight weeks later? In this episode, we meet Darren – a fit-looking but dangerously unhealthy bodybuilder. 35-year-old Darren is a happy dad of two who looks like he’s in great shape; he doesn’t drink or smoke, and he’s been a dedicated bodybuilder since his teens. However, he’s been taking anabolic steroids for 15 years and has already suffered side-effects like lumps on the chest and erectile dysfunction. While he can see these problems, he’s increasingly worried about the damage he’s done that he can’t see. Darren is given some truly shocking news about his heart health, and is asked to slowly give up his steroid use and increase his cardio workouts. As he struggles to implement these changes, we follow his ups and downs over eight weeks... Will he have done enough to improve his health?
Scots die younger than anyone else in the UK. For many, work is less active, hobbies more sedentary, lives are more stressful and sleep is harder to come by. While the damage is devastating, it’s never too late to make a change. In this episode, we meet airline shift-worker Victoria, and Johan, a food-obsessed chef with a busy home and work life. 28-year-old Victoria works as cabin crew and can do up to four flights a day. Every day starts at a different time for her, but like many of the 3.2m people in the UK who work outside the regular 9 to 5, she’s often up and working while many of us are still asleep. She eats at irregular hours, suffers from constant fatigue and complains about regular stomach pain. More recently, she’s felt her mood suffering, and often feels anxious. As for Johan, if taking care of five kids wasn’t enough, he often works 12-hour shifts in a kitchen. Despite serving up culinary treats, his own eating habits are pretty poor, and he gets next to no exercise, a combination that has led to weight gain. Victoria and Johan are confronted with how their lifestyle is damaging their health. Despite her healthy appearance, Victoria is surprised that she is at risk of diabetes, and Johan’s results reveal he has a little-known but increasingly common syndrome. They’re both given a health plan, and over eight weeks we see the struggles they face in taking onboard all the advice and adopting a new lifestyle. Victoria is given some helpful tips from a specialist on sleep and shift work, and Johan learns to bring activity into his family life. After eight weeks, we find out if they’ve managed to turn their lives around.
Scots die younger than anyone else in the UK. For many, work is less active, hobbies more sedentary, lives are more stressful and sleep is harder to come by. While the damage is devastating, it’s never too late to make a change. In this episode, we meet Ryan – a 30-year-old who loves soft drinks and takeaways – and Marie, a super-active mum of two. Ryan spends up to 15 hours a day sat in front a computer screen, guzzles up to four litres of soft drinks a day, and frequently eats takeaways. Despite being healthy as a teenager, after a couple of years working at his computer desk he put on around four stones. He does little to no physical activity; unlike Marie. A 38-year-old mum of two, Marie is constantly on the go. When she’s not busy dealing with her kids she’s a keen fitness buff, and in between cardio workouts and lifting weights, she runs the kids to school on their buggy. Despite looking great on the outside, Marie’s lifestyle is a bit chaotic, and her sleep is terrible; perhaps not surprising given she regularly drinks over 10 cups of a coffee a day. Ryan and Marie are confronted with how their lifestyles are having an impact on their health – now and in the future. Ryan’s told he has an estimated 61% risk of becoming diabetic, and Marie’s told that the stress she’s putting on her body are storing up problems for her future. After the shock of receiving the news, each is given a health plan that is tailored to their specific needs; for Ryan, it’s more movement and less sugary drinks – for Marie, it’s less caffeine and a bit of wind-down time. Any change in lifestyle is tricky, and we follow them as they struggle over weeks. When Ryan is tempted by sugary drinks, he’s reminded of his fear about becoming one of the UK’s 3.5m diabetics. And Marie gets some advice from a top sleep expert in how she can improve her zzzz’s. We also meet with experts who give general advice on how to improve health that we can all learn f