under the microscope

TV PRESENTER Dan Snow, 36, answers our health quiz

CAN YOU RUN UP STAIRS?

YES. The good thing about making history programmes is that I’m always filming in castles and churches that have tall spires and turrets. I always make a point of trying to jog upstairs to check that I still can. I walk where I can, too. I have an app on my phone that counts my steps, which are often more than 10,000 daily.

GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?

I PROBABLY don’t quite, but I do eat pretty healthily. I drink only water during the day and don’t snack. I’m eating less meat, too.

POP ANY PILLS?

IN THE winter, my wife makes me swallow vitamin C when the children come home with all sorts of coughs and colds, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect — I always get their bugs.

EVER DIETED?

IN 2008, I WAS told — with two weeks to go — that I was 1½ st too heavy to go in a Typhoon jet for The One Show. I’m 6 ft 6in and normally weigh 15½ st. Back then, I was 16½ st and by going on a severe diet I went down to 15 st. It was terribly hard — I didn’t follow a plan, I just ate very little.

WORST ILLNESS?

I GOT malaria when I was in Zambia on a gap year when I was 18. I was taking anti-malaria tablets but still got it. So I stopped taking the medication and got another, much worse bout. I was laid up for a couple of weeks.

ANY VICES?

I HAVE a sweet tooth, so a piece of chocolate cake or a brownie now and then is nice. I drank too much alcohol in my 20s. Now I only drink at the weekends: just a beer and a glass of wine with a meal.

ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?

WE DO have lung cancer in the family on my dad’s side, but mostly that is down to heavy smoking. My mum’s side of the family live a very long time.

HAD ANYTHING REMOVED?

I GOT appendicitis on a sailing trip across the Atlantic a few years ago. I was rushed ashore in St Lucia and it was taken out, bursting as it was removed; if it bursts inside you, it can be fatal.

IS SEX IMPORTANT?

YES, it’s very important. It is wonderful for your physical and mental health.

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

LUCKILY, no. But being short of sleep does affect you. When my daughter was born we weren’t sleeping much, and it was difficult. But I am an even keel person.

BIGGEST PHOBIA?

I DON’T like caving, but I still do it. I’m not a fan of snakes either, but I don’t have a phobia about them.

LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?

ABSOLUTELY. The world is too fascinating not to.