Q: I’ve had back problems for a long time. My mobility has been affected, so I have put on a lot of weight. I’m just now feeling able to do some exercise, and I thought I’d start gently – maybe swimming. Someone told me that breaststroke can be bad for people with back problems. Is this true? What other stroke would you recommend?

Marie Rolls, by email

A: Tony gallagher writes ...

Although a bad back quite often deters people from exercising, conventional wisdom proffers exercise and movement as an essential recovery and maintenance tool for backs. If you exercise carefully and give your body a chance to recover, you are upping your chances of a successful rehabilitation. Quite often bad backs are produced from too much strain and too little recovery.

Swimming is certainly a good exercise for those suffering in this area. The great advantage, of course, is the support you get from the water while strengthening the muscles.

If you have very efficient breaststroke technique, then give it a try and listen to your body and decide for yourself whether to continue with that particular stroke. For many swimmers, the issue is that breaststroke can put strains on the neck and back because they hold their head out of the water and/or pointing forward. The more the head is lifted, the lower the hips dip and this also causes drag.

The butterfly stroke is probably best given a wide berth. Freestyle and backstroke may be beneficial for you. The front crawl and backstroke, if performed efficiently, will help stretch and mobilise your back in addition to giving you a solid cardiovascular workout.

Aqua-aerobics sessions are also worth considering in your journey back to fitness. Many local leisure centres run these classes. These will benefit you from a strength, flexibility and mobility point of view.

Sunday lunch

Q: What’s the healthiest version of roast dinner?

A: Sara stanner writes ...

Although it’s true that roast dinners are typically laden with fat and salt, this doesn’t have to be the case. While chicken and pork are typically lower in fat than beef and lamb, the cut of meat that you choose and the way you cook it will also determine its fat content.

Basting meat in lashings of fat, especially butter, is obviously an unhealthy practice. If you are adding extra fat, opt for vegetable oil, margarine or lower-fat spread and don’t add more than you need.

For healthier meat, cook it on a wire rack to let excess fat run off and remove the rind, top fat or skin after cooking. Obviously, leaving the bacon trimmings off roast chicken will reduce the calorie and fat content.

Boiled or new potatoes are a lower fat option but you can make healthier roasties by tossing parboiled potatoes in oil and roasting them without adding more oil to the baking tray. You can also soak up excess fat after cooking with kitchen paper.

Include lots of vegetables, preferably steamed to preserve their vitamin content and served without added butter. Gravy is often the source of most of the salt in a roast dinner. Gravy granules can be high in salt – if you are using these, look for lower-salt versions. But if you can make your own, use the meat juices, drain off as much fat as possible (use a gravy separator, available from kitchen shops and John Lewis), add stock if necessary and flour or cornflour to thicken.