Christmas seems to come earlier every year – or at least the marketing and advertising frenzy that precedes it. Festive madness is becoming even more all-conquering since the arrival of Black Friday in the UK, but how has the way Brits shop and think about Christmas changed?

Setting unrealistic goals is something we all do, especially when it comes to self-improvement. We strive to be fitter, smarter, kinder, or to eat more healthily. But shaking off old habits is hard. Sometimes we don’t even get started. Can a step-by-step app, informed by behavioural science, come to our rescue?

From nicotine gum to e-cigarettes, the global smoking cessation-aid market was worth around $2.4 billion in 2011, and as healthcare costs soar and more people seek to give up, its value is set to grow. But when it comes to kicking the habit, what will get people to quit – the carrot or the stick?

Choosing a salad over a portion of chips might not be as wise a choice as you think. Research suggests that people will often implicitly associate healthy foods with feeling less full than unhealthy foods, leading them to overeat in response. But how can food manufacturers combat this?