People often ask me if there’s a secret to positive ageing and whether making lifestyle changes can guarantee to improve their life expectancy.  

So, let’s look at what ageing positively actually is.

Basically, it’s about living as well as you can for as long as you can. So, though the length of our lives does come into it, what we’re really aiming for is an extended health span – during which we remain well and fit enough to live a normal life – rather than a lengthy lifespan. 

After all, do any of us want to live to be 100 if our last 15 or 20 years are spent being immobile, in pain, demented or thoroughly miserable? I know I don’t.  

But there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that we can avoid many of the chronic illnesses that are common in later life if we live more wisely. 

When I give talks on this subject, I usually suggest to the audience that most of us have niggling worries about behaviour that we ought to alter, but we tend to push them to the back of our minds.

When I say these words, I look around the hall and always see a large number of men and women nodding in agreement. 

Now, there are lots of areas we avoid sorting, and some of them are to do with downsizing or money, or whether or not to leave a redundant relationship. But from experience I can tell you that at our age, most people’s main issues are about health, and concern how much they drink, how much they weigh, and how little they exercise. 

So, let us look at those. 

Alcohol plays a big part in the social life of the UK, and I certainly don’t want to be a killjoy, because lots of you probably enjoy the odd tipple and feel it does you good. You may even be of the opinion that drinking is beneficial and that, for example, red wine is practically a health food. But if there is any truth in what you believe, it greatly depends on how much booze you actually imbibe. 

Many medics specialising in ageing problems these days, advise giving up alcohol altogether.

The website of the world-famous Mayo clinic, for example, states: “… alcohol use can have significant effects on many chronic illnesses seen in older adults. For any older individual with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure or diabetes, abstinence is recommended”. 

It’s also a well-known medical fact that our tolerance for alcohol diminishes with age. This means we feel the effects of it quicker than when we were younger, which can lead to an increased likelihood of falls, or accidents of many kinds. 

There is also the possibility of ARBD or alcohol related brain damage. This is a form of dementia but unlike other types of cognitive impairment, can be reversed to some extent if sufferers cut back their alcohol intake.

Now, you may never receive a diagnosis of ARBD but if you have to admit that you’re vague about summoning up answers in your local quiz night, or that names of objects or people frequently elude you, particularly when you’ve been drinking, you may want to give some thought to how much you consume.   

The current NHS recommendation is that we should not exceed 14 units a week and that these should be spread over three days or more.

Could you stick to that? Perhaps you feel life would be no fun at all if you drank as little as the recommended amount.

Many folk keep drinking more than they feel they should for fear that their social life would suffer if they changed their habits. But the truth is that there are loads of us out there having a jolly time who no longer drink. Talk to individuals you know who’ve become teetotal; the chances are they’ll tell you they feel better for it, and have no regrets about abstaining. 

What about weight? Here’s a stark statistic for you. In the UK, 64pc of the adult population are overweight or obese. That’s a hell of a lot of people who are in danger of contracting various unpleasant illnesses and dying before their grandchildren grow up. 

This is a real concern, so many of us have made choices to reduce our weight and alcohol levels because, though that can be hard, it feels worthwhile if it enables us to stay around longer for our families.

Finally, exercise. Worryingly, only a fifth of older adults manage the recommended 150 minutes of moderately intensive activity per week. Does it matter? Yes, it does.

Try walking more, and walking more quickly. Achieving a pace of around 2.5 miles per hour can reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes by 15pc. And walking five times a week gives you a good chance of halving the risk of heart disease, and reducing by 25pc the likelihood of having a stroke. The Stroke Association also claims that walking regularly reduces cholesterol and blood pressure. 

How do you feel about all this information?

Might it make you ask yourself: “What am I prepared to change that might keep me living well for longer?” 

I’d like to think so.