AS the single mum of two hungry boys, Sarah Flowers knows how difficult it can be to juggle work and family life, and still provide healthy meals for her children.

The nutritionist will be at the festival to reveal how to create healthy, economic family meals that make the most of your time in the kitchen.

From filling up the freezer with portions of home-made ready meals for your hungry teenager to dusting off the slow cooker for those days when you're working late, Sarah has plenty of tips to keep meals healthy with limited time.

FULL BRADFORD LITERATURE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Sarah's presentation, The Busy Mum's Plan-Ahead Cookbook, is one of a series of events focusing on health and wellbeing as part of the festival.

Also taking part is neuropsychologist, researcher and best-selling author David Lewis, who discusses the obesity pandemic that's taking its grip on the world. More than a billion people worldwide are overweight, he says, and more than 600 million are obese. In an "obesogenic" environment it is much easier to get fat than it is to stay thin. But how has this come to be and who is to blame? And what can we do to tackle the global crisis of obesity?

MORE BRADFORD LITERATURE FESTIVAL HEADLINES

Dr Lewis - an on-screen consultant to Channel 4’s Secret Eaters programme - examines the social and psychological causes of the crisis in his presentation, Why the World Has Become Obese.

One health risk of obesity is diabetes, and the festival welcomes Dr David Cavan, an expert in the condition, who will offer a step-by-step guide on how to take control of, and potentially reverse, type 2 diabetes.

Based on the latest research, his programme outlines key steps to turn around your health, including taking care over what you eat, getting more active, monitoring your progress and committing to lifelong change. He will also be tackling some of the myths and misconceptions about diabetes. Dr Cavan will be talking to writer, producer and presenter Colin Philpott.

Cancer is said to be the primary fear for British people, ahead of debt, knife crime and losing a job.

In The Gene That Cracked the Cancer Code, scientific writer Sue Armstrong will be talking about the p53 gene, whose job is to prevent tumours forming. In attempting to explain medical science’s mission to unravel the mysteries of this crucial gene, she will explore issues surrounding the chase for new cures - the hype, the excitement and enthusiasm, the lost opportunities, blind alleys, and thrilling breakthroughs.

Sue Armstrong is a science writer and broadcaster who has worked for a variety of media organisations, including New Scientist. For the past three decades she has taken on assignments for the World Health Organization and UNAIDS, writing about topics such as women’s health issues and the AIDS pandemic.

Fasting has become increasingly popular over the years, and scientists have uncovered evidence that short periods of fasting, if controlled properly, can bring about several health benefits.

Fasting can be done for both physical and spiritual benefits. Festival guest Karimah bint Dawood, a clinical nutritionist and author of Heavenly Bites – the Best of Muslim Home Cooking, gives a talk on gaining the health benefits of fasting, through eating the right foods when starting or breaking your fast.

The session is for anyone wishing to find out more about how to fast in a healthy way, for dietary reasons or for a spiritual purpose.

* The Busy Mum’s Plan-Ahead Cookbook is at Waterstones, Bradford, on Saturday, May 23 from 10.30am.

Fat Planet: Why the World has Become Obese is at the Great Hall at the University of Bradford's Richmond Building on Saturday, May 23 at 12noon.

Reverse Your Diabetes is also at the University's Great Hall on Saturday 23 May, from 1.30pm.

The Gene that Cracked the Cancer Code is at the Great Hall on Sunday, May 24 at 1.30pm.

Fasting: The Health Benefits is at City Library on Sunday, May 24 at 2pm.