How Can We Continue to Age Healthily?

If there's one dream we may all aspire towards, it is to age healthily. This doesn't have to mean living to 100 years old, but it does suggest a greater independence and control.

We often think the key to this kingdom must involve more exercise, less food and a lucky roll of the dice when it comes to our genes.

But research in Australia shows the crucial factors aren’t strict regimes or medicines but a simple, if elusive, quality we can all cultivate namely adaptability.

The science points to adaptability as a skill we can learn and practice to our and society's benefit. The insights come from the University of Melbourne’s  Women's Healthy Ageing Project, which started in 1990 and has tracked 400 women aged 45-70.

The findings so far, which also broadly apply to men, are both sobering and encouraging. For a longer and healthier life, you don't need to run marathons or monitor everything you eat, and excessive attention to any one strategy can be a negative.

Their recipe is refreshingly achievable, simple and basic common sense. Invest in your social connections, take a daily walk, moderate food consumption and cultivate a positive mood.

According to Professor Casandra Szoeke, who heads the project, the result is not just a longer life but a more enjoyable one less burdened by the chronic diseases which bedevil so many of us.

In her new book, she says humanity's collective and individual skill, now our most significant challenge, is adapting to changing environments.

In short, you do not need to become a health fanatic as science shows they have lower outcomes than those who simply practise moderation in all things.

If that is the right word, the' secret' is to develop your intrinsic capacity to cope with the vicissitudes of all our ordinary lives. (It's a fancy Latin word defined as "a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant," i.e. think the present COVID pandemic*)

"Intrinsic capacity is your ability to weather the storms life throws at us. It is what provides you with resilience in the face of inevitable change," she writes.

For men and others, I recommend a fascinating read by Sydney-based clinical scientist  Professor Luigi Fontana called The Path to Longevity. More on this another time.

So what do you do about trying to ensure you age healthily? And what do you feel are the barriers preventing you get there?


*Re Covid I now hesitate to call it a crisis not because the stakes are high and the mounting costs not appalling enough but because it doesn't help me. I take counsel from an epidemiologist who said don't 'catastrophise' as the vaccine rollout will catch up not in days or a few weeks but in several months. While our ability to adapt to the pandemic may vary widely in those areas, one can control attitude/outlook, time and consumption. I shall certainly give it a go.


Any information contained in this communication is general advice, it does not take into account your individual circumstances, objectives, financial situation or needs.