Biochemist Dr Peter Altman has written his debut book.

Titled The Pocket Guide to Stayin’ Alive, it is a health check-list, providing useful information to help us assess how well we are and how to get better if we are not. Topics include weight loss, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and heart attacks. There is even a chart where readers can work out their personal risk of having a fatal heart attack within the next ten years.

Dr Altman, 68, tells People: “It is important to understand numbers so you can stay well, know what things mean, and be treated.”

Aimed at the general public, the 96-page book is published by his own medical publishing company, Altman Press. A resident of Bricket Wood, Herts, he received his first degree in biochemsitry from University College London. He holds two doctorates.