While we cannot stop time from marching ahead at a fast pace, recent studies have shown that we can alter the rate at which our bodies progress through our life cycle.

We now have a better understanding of why some people tend to age much faster than others. There is scientific evidence that suggests we can slow down and even reverse the symptoms of aging. Many of us can be in better health in our 70s than we were in our 50s.

Recent studies indicate that, between the ages of 30 and 70, many of the symptoms and conditions traditionally associated with normal aging are, in fact, the result of sedentary lifestyles.

If one were to evaluate one’s strength, endurance, mobility and cardio-vascular pulmonary performance before and after a one-month period of complete bed rest can be equated to 30 years of aging.

However, there is good news on the horizon. It has been proven that regular exercise incorporated into our lifestyle can improve our heart and respiratory function, lower our blood pressure, increase our strength, improve bone density, improve flexibility, quicken our reaction time, reduce body fat, increase muscle mass and reduce our susceptibility to depression and disease.

Studies show that regular exercise by middle-aged and elderly people can set back the clock 20 to 40 years when compared with people who do little or no exercise.

Test results show that no matter when a person starts to exercise, significant improvement can be achieved, even in the very elderly.

Older people can achieve the same percentage gains in performance as the young. In one study of more than 200 men and women aged 56 to 87, “dramatic changes” were observed after just six weeks of exercising three to five times a week.

It is not just exercise at the gym which can have a beneficial effect. Many women enjoy aerobic dance programmes and this indeed does improve fitness levels, even at ages 50 and upwards.

Aerobic exercise enhances blood flow to various parts of the brain as well as increasing the speed with which nerve messages travel through the brain. It appears that keeping fit helps halt the functional decline typically seen with increasing age.

Another advantage of regular exercise is that it helps improve bone density – another feature of older age in women. Various studies have shown that, when our bones are taxed from exercise, they grow stronger and denser and become more resistant to fracture.

Exercise also promotes attention and alertness, both of which are needed to get information into your memory.

It is important that the exercise you choose to undertake is of a regular nature, preferably a daily routine.

There is some truth in the term ‘middle-age spread’. Many people find that, as they get older, despite their best endeavours, it becomes increasingly difficult to lose weight.

There are two factors that need to be addressed. It is important to maintain a healthy diet. This means, in general terms, eliminating sweets and chocolates, fast food, prepared and packaged ready food, biscuits, desserts and dairy products.

It is also advisable to eliminate or greatly reduce alcohol consumption. It would seem to the prospective dieter that the only food allowed is less enticing.

However, there are plenty of fruit and vegetables available on the market and many vegetarian recipes and low-fat cookbooks from which to choose in order to vary the monotony of sticking to a diet.

Many people find it very useful to consult a dietician and to proceed on recommendations with regards to following a diet that will result in weight loss and a generally healthy feeling of wellbeing.

Excess weight in men and women in middle age and the elderly is often caused by one or more age-related chemical imbalances – a sluggish metabolism, which comes with aging; food allergies that can cause the accumulation of inflammatory fluids, mood swings which intensity food cravings and disturbances in the signals that regulate appetite.

Traditionally, it was men who were involved in more sedentary work while women were at home and moved about with housework and childcare and walking the children to school. Nowadays, women are at work as much as men and both sexes need to exercise and maintain a healthy diet to prevent weight gain and premature aging.

The first thing anyone aged 40 and upwards needs to do before starting a workout programme is to have a physical check-up. A visit to the doctor to check your heart and joints will enable you to know the limitations of your workout.

You may then plan your exercise programme. Many people decide to engage a personal trainer to get the best out of all the gym equipment on offer and to suggest the best way to organise your session at the gym using all the various exercise machines.

As a newcomer to the gym, you may wish to start off with low-impact exercises such as walking, bicycle riding or jump rope. Another important part of your pre-workout regime needs to involve a great deal of stretching.

After three to four weeks of low-impact exercises, you should be ready to start your weight training. It is a good idea to work each body part two days a week with 48 to 72 hours of rest for each body part.

Abdomen exercises can be done whenever you have time because these muscles adapt quicker with less rest between workouts.

We are becoming increasingly health- and weight-conscious. This is good news for those who wish to live a longer and healthier life.

Anybody who feels they are getting old and unwell should take stock of their situation and follow the message – be healthy and live longer.