The scientific foundation of Live Longer Better

The ageing process affects everyone from about the age of twenty.  it has two principal effects. the first is a decrease in maximal ability, the maximal heart rate for example. The second is the loss of resilience, the ability to adapt to a challenge such as a decrease in temperature or a stumble.But by itself it does not cause major problems until the late nineties.  We now know that there are three inter-related causes of the problems that offer more frequently as people live longer:

• Loss of fitness, physical and mental which is often blamed on a person's 'lifestyle' but it is important to be aware of the impact of the modern environment. Professor Daniel Lieberman of Harvard  has described how we have evolved for hundreds of generations favouring the selection of genes which keep us active, and which help us put on fat when calories are found or caught. This genetic inheritance is mismatched with the modern environment which entices, and often sometimes, at work, requires us to sit down
• Disease, much of which is preventable, and the disability that results is usually complicated by accelerated loss of fitness and often exacerbated by the modern environment as well as the third cause, namely
• Social factors, deprivation affecting too many people still and, affecting everyone, pessimistic and negative beliefs and attitudes - ageism. 

​The causes and their inter-relationships can be represented using. the diagram of the Oxford Longevity Project :

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The evidence base for Live Longer Better

We also know what can be done to live better for longer.  The evidence is strong that at any age individuals who are living longer need to focus on:

• Getting fitter, both physically and mentally. At any age we can regain lost Strength, Stamina, Suppleness and Skill and at any age we can stimulate the brain and the mind.
• Making best use of available resources, including from the NHS, to ensure the effective prevention and management of disease, and preventing the accelerated loss of fitness, or deconditioning, that often follows the onset of disease
• Understanding what is happening to our beliefs and attitudes from the prevailing societal beliefs and attitudes so that we can be more positive.  Action, engaging with others, particularly with a societal purpose can reduce the impact of what most people think is the effect of ageing.

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Activity is key

Activity, physical, mental and social, or, to put it another way, physical, cognitive and emotional is of vital importance in achieving optimal ageing, that is, to keep the gap  between your actual level of ability and your best possible level of ability by preventing loss of fitness or regaining lost fitness, both physical and mental  by what can be called ‘training’ but could just as well  be called activity, particularly activity that challenges body,brain and mind. ​

The benefits of physical activity are obvious. Mental activity increases your ability to think clearly and logically, increasing cognitive fitness and social activity will help emotional fitness, not just feeling better because people have done something nice for you but because you have done something good for other people.  
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​These are simple principles based on strong scientific but we live in a society in which many people, including highly trained people, are ignorant or confused about what is going on and how to cope with it.

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