A MAN in his seventies has completed his first 40 mile bike ride after taking part in a social experiment to improve his health.

David Wells, 73, and his wife Ann, 72, from Ripon, North Yorkshire took part in a year-long survey to see if taking advice from a pharmacist could improve their health.

They were teamed up with Harrogate pharmacist James Springell, who set them health targets for a year and given a plan on how to achieve them.

The couple had regular health checks throughout the year for blood pressure, lung capacity and cholesterol levels at the pharmacy in their local Sainsbury’s.

Mrs Wells was diagnosed with cancer during the trial and fortunately given the all-clear from the disease.

Throughout it she had support from her pharmacist and also managed to increase her lung capacity to healthy levels and her blood pressure dropped from high to within a normal range.

Mr Wells lost 2kg and took part in a 40 mile charity bike ride, despite not having been on a bicycle in five years. He is now training for his next charity cycle event in May.

He said: “This experiment has been good for us. We had a couple of scares along the way; Ann was diagnosed with cancer. She seems ok now, she’s pulled through.

“We realised what we were doing in terms of healthy eating and exercise was the right thing to do.”

Ten families in the UK with the surname Wells were selected to take part in the survey. The majority of them were found to have lost weight, reduced their cholesterol and reduced their risk of a heart attack or stroke by the end of the year.

Sainsbury’s pharmacies are now operating a three month pilot Healthy Living Plan to give people regular health assessments and dietary advice, which includes tests to assess the risk of heart disease and diabetes.