NHS GP Dr Zoe Williams answers YOUR questions – from trouble losing weight to foot pain

IF you’re someone who doesn’t regularly exercise, the idea can feel daunting.

The benefits of moving more are endless. It can help reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer and lower your risk of early death by up to 30 percent.

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And that’s before we even get to the mental health benefits.

What’s more, it’s free, and can give you an immediate health boost.

Remember that every little bit helps, so if you are intimidated at the idea of going to a gym or your local swimming pool, just focus on starting small.

Walking to the shops and taking the stairs instead of the lift can make a big difference.

The NHS recommends you aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week – that means you could just about still hold a conversation.

Break that down and it’s 21 minutes a day – or four blocks of five minutes.

If you need help getting motivated check out the NHS Live Well website for some inspiration.

Meanwhile, here’s what readers have been asking this week . . .

Q: I’M 71 and weigh 13st 9lb. I’ve been like this since I had my gallbladder removed in 2008.

I’ve been on lots of diets and I walk my dog 30 minutes every day on a sandy beach, besides doing chores.

I just can’t lose weight.

I don’t think I’m burning any calories.

Could this be true? I eat sensibly.

A: Yes, there can be metabolic changes after a cholecystectomy — the medical name for surgery to remove the gallbladder.

The gallbladder’s main job is to store bile, a liquid produced by the liver to help us digest fat.

When we eat, the gallbladder squeezes bile into the small intestine.

And the higher the fat content of the meal, the more bile it pushes into the gut.

Sometimes problems arise if a gallstone blocks the tube that the bile gets squeezed through.

The contracting gallbladder tries to overcome the blockage and this can trigger a sudden, intense pain in your tummy that usually lasts between one and five hours.

This type of abdominal pain is known as biliary colic and it’s most likely to happen after a large, fatty meal.

Cholecystectomy has been the gold-standard treatment for gallbladder issues for a very long time.

In more recent years scientists are understanding that the gallbladder has other functions, which include regulating parts of our metabolism, and even altering how hungry we feel, which in turn impacts our appetite, what we eat and how much.

These changes don’t always last forever, as the body can regulate itself and appetites and metabolic rates return to normal over time, but in some people it seems the changes do remain long-term.

If your weight is negatively impacting your health then I’d advise speaking to your GP practice to see if there are any NHS weight-management services you can be referred to locally.

There, you will receive support to make some small, sustainable changes that may help.

Q: I HAVE a long-term skin problem that affects my forehead. It is very dry and scaly most of the year but as soon as the sun comes out, it turns red and is quite sore.

It is also affected by chlorine after a swim.

The summer is just starting but I am already suffering.

I wear a cap but even very short exposure to bright light or sunlight sets it off.

I have tried lots of creams but none seem to have any impact.

I am an 85-year-old male and in generally good health.

A: I WOULD be interested to know whether your eyebrows are affected too?

There is a skin condition called seborrhoeic dermatitis which tends to appear as scaly patches, which are often red in those with white skin, or either lighter or darker in those with brown or black skin. 

It often affects the hairline on the forehead, the eyebrows and the creases at the sides of the nose too, or other areas of the body where skin gets oily, such as scalp, face, ears, neck and chest.

Are any of those areas affected?

The thing is that seborrhoeic dermatitis usually tends to improve in summer, and the sun’s UV rays have been shown to kill the type of yeast that overgrows on the skin in people who get it.

So that’s got me thinking about photosensitive dermatitis, which flares up when the skin is exposed to sunlight, even sometimes artificial light.

Some medications can cause the skin to react this way to light, especially antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

And sometimes it can be an allergic reaction to a product being put on the skin that makes it sensitive to light.

Your GP may be able to diagnose it by sight, alongside a full history, so you need to make an appointment or complete an e-consult and send in some pictures.

The pictures will be helpful if they decide to ask for some advice from a dermatologist too.