Some Australians are shattering stereotypes by being fitter and healthier than people half their age. Lynnette Hoffman reports

WHEN Oprah Winfrey celebrated her 50th birthday this year a studio full of A-list celebrities was on hand to

commemorate her hitting the half-century mark in grand style, with everything from hand-embroidered

invitations made of the finest imported Indian silk to more than 30,000 flowers shipped in from around the

world.

This was no ordinary birthday, after all.

It was a major milestone. Except that Winfrey wasn't really turning 50.

According to Michael Roizen, a US-based preventive ageing specialist and best-selling author who is also a

popular guest on Winfrey's show, the queen of talk and self-help guru actually has some seven years to go

before her "real" age catches up to her calendar age.

Winfrey is among a growing number of people getting healthier as they get older, instead of the other way

around.

Old is no longer synonymous with physical decline and many older folk are in fact fitter, healthier and even

happier than people as much as half their age.

Wollongong runner Michael Hickman led a rather sedentary life until aged 51, when he decided to train for

the 14-kilometre City to Surf with his youngest son (who, incidentally, no longer runs). Having never seriously

exercised apart from some recreational tennis years earlier, Hickman eased into things.

"I started by jogging around the block, and then I ran a little further and further each day," he says.

At 54 he ran his first marathon in a time of 4 hours 29 minutes. Now 70, Hickman runs an average of 40

kilometres a week, a far cry from his days of looping the block.

Since that first marathon Hickman has finished nine others, including the gruelling 45-kilometre Six Foot

Track race through the Blue Mountains earlier this year.

Hickman was one of three runners over 70 who finished. "Running has made a big difference to my health.

I'm slim, my blood pressure has dropped, and I feel much better," he says.

The internet is flooded with standardised, multiple-choice tests to help determine biological age from

countless questions about risky behaviours such as smoking, lifestyle factors, and other incidentals like

whether you floss regularly, have a fulfilling sex life or own a pet. Roizen even quantifies each activity, and by

his calculations if you floss daily subtract 6.6 years from your real age.

The accuracy of these sorts of specifics is questionable, but the idea that chronological and biological age

often do not match is not.

An 80-year-old who eats a healthy, balanced diet, exercises regularly and gets plenty of mental and social

stimulation, among other factors, could have a body more typical of a 50-year-old than of other 80-year-olds,

says Gary Andrews, professor and gerontologist at Flinders University in South Australia who is also a

council member of the Australian Association of Gerontology.

Conversely, someone in their 50s who smokes, has a fatty diet and doesn't exercise might have a body more

consistent with that of an 80-year-old.

"The rate at which you decline is different in different people," Andrews says. "For years people have been

trying to determine the biological markers of ageing but there really isn't a way of putting a finger on it."

For example, in most of the population kidney function starts to decline after the age of 40 at a rate of 1 per

cent every year, so by the time most people hit 80 their kidney function will be reduced by 40 per cent,

Andrews says. "But then there's about 25 per cent of people in their 80s who have kidney function as good

as when they were in their 20s."

Old age does not equate to doom and gloom says Hal Kendig, a gerontologist and dean of the faculty of

health sciences at the University of Sydney.

Research has contradicted the image of grumpy old men and women. Older people generally have higher

levels of life satisfaction than their younger counterparts, Kendig says. A recent study that tracked 1000 older

people in Melbourne over a decade from the time they were 65 concluded that most older people, including

those with diseases and other health problems, have high levels of wellbeing and independence.

"Wellbeing and independence can be influenced by illness, but if you continue with the patterns of your life

and remain socially involved so you keep your identity, you can continue positive wellbeing and life

satisfaction," Kendig says.

Older Australians are also making a significant impact on their communities. For instance nearly 40 per cent

of carers for people with disabilities are 55 and over, and people over 55 account for a third of all volunteer

hours worked in Australia. One third of all 55 to 74-year-olds and a fifth of those over 75 regularly volunteer.

More than 40,000 Australians are involved in University of the Third Age (U3A), a volunteer-run "university"

where older people run courses for other older people. They pass along their own expertise in everything

from politics and history to writing, religion, and arts. U3A has more than 100 locations in Australia.

The best part is there are no tests and no entry requirements other than being in the "third age" -- older than

50. The point is simply to provide a place where older people can keep their minds active and engaged, and

learn just because they can.

Many retirees are also looking for ways to continue using their talents and skills in paid employment, often on

a different schedule or in a new area.

According to surveys conducted by SageCo, a Sydney-based consulting and recruiting company, 60 per cent

of mature-aged workers say they want to work post-retirement, but under flexible arrangements.

SageCo connects highly skilled mature-aged workers with organisations on a contract or consultancy basis,

as well as offering coaching on post-retirement career opportunities. It also helps companies transfer the

knowledge and experience of older workers to the younger.

Aside from allowing older people to contribute to their communities, part-time and volunteer work and

continuing education programs increase social interaction. This helps older people feel valued and useful,

and at the same time improves mental health and decreases the risk of depression.

"Ageing is a much more positive experience than most people realise, and there's a lot we can do to improve

the outcomes," Kendig says.

And it's just as well, given how much longer we're living these days.

One hundred years ago the average Australian lived to age 57. These days an average Australian woman at

the age of 60 can expect to live for another 25 years, with only four-and-a-half of those years featuring a

disability. An average man of the same age can expect to live about 17 more years, with four years of

disability. And the number of centenarians continues to grow.

Healthier lifestyles, a better understanding of disease and how the body works, and improvements in medical

technology have all played a role in helping people live longer.

Gerontologists say that while genes do affect the way you age and your overall life expectancy, they don't

have as big an impact as you might think.

In fact, they only account for about 40 per cent of how you age, Andrews says. The rest comes down to your

environment and choices you make.

The body does degenerate with age, of course, and that's not likely to change, but you can slow the process

substantially with a little effort.

As you age the body loses calcium and bone density, potassium, total body water and muscle mass. Other

nutrients such as nitrogen and protein also decrease and body fat increases (more bad news).

As the body loses muscle mass your metabolism slows, so you don't need as much energy. Thus if you keep

eating the same amount of calories as you did when you were young, you could become obese.

According to University of Sydney's Maria Fiatarone Singh, a professor who specialises in geriatric medicine,

just how drastic these changes are depends on a combination of genetic, lifestyle and disease-related

factors.

While it won't completely shelter you from the not-so-thrilling effects ageing has on your body, a combination

of weight-training and aerobic activity can certainly lessen them. If you took physical activity and put it in a pill

you could sell it to everyone, Fiatarone Singh says.

Diet and regular exercise are a big part of the equation for living a long and fruitful life, but they are not the

only factors.

One of the easiest ways to prolong your life is not to smoke, or quit if you already do. Limiting alcohol

consumption and maintaining a sensible weight also helps, as can keeping stress to a minimum and

maintaining strong relationships and social connections.

People with higher incomes, education levels and social status also fare better especially in terms of their

mental health, and they adjust better into retirement as well.

Reasons for this are not definite but research suggests better educated, more affluent people tend to have a

higher awareness of what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle. And they also have the resources to make it

happen.

Experts say social factors that may often be overlooked are as important to healthy ageing as the standard

advice to look after physical health.

"You can do everything right, exercise every day, eat right and do all the right kinds of things, but if you don't

have meaningful relationships you won't be happy because that's what provides people with joy, value,

recognition and a sense of wellbeing," says Susan Feldman, director of the Alma Unit for Women and Ageing

at Victoria University in Melbourne.

As people become less mobile social contacts are especially important.

Laurie Buys, a senior lecturer and director for the Centre of Social Change Research at the Queensland

University of Technology, says older adults who stay at home as they become frail are much better off and

much happier than those placed in nursing homes, and that's made possible by having family or friends who

help.

Intergenerational relationships are also important, Feldman says, so that older people don't get to a stage

when there's no one left -- a particularly serious issue for men who outlive their partner, since they often rely

heavily on a spouse's social contacts.

"Ageing can be lonely if you don't have emotional connections. It can really affect mental health and result in

depression and social isolation," Feldman says. Men who outlive their partners have a high risk of suicide for

these very reasons, but it doesn't have to be so.

With people focusing so intensely on work, socialising and leisure activities can sink to the bottom of the

priority list. But hobbies and making time for friends and recreation before you retire is one of the most

effective ways to reduce the chances of falling into the pitfall of depression, Feldman says.

Minimising stress can keep your real age low as well, so yoga, meditation or anything that helps keep you

calm and relaxed can also shed years from your biological age.

There's some evidence that sustained stress disrupts the immune system which can make you more

susceptible to disease, Kendig says.

Letting stress get to you can increase the likelihood of depression and lead to less physical activity, poor

eating and abuse of alcohol.

So "don't worry, be happy" is Andrews's advice. "Ageing is part of the process of living, so we need to

minimise the negative effects and maximise the positives," Andrews says.

"Older people often have more wisdom, cumulative knowledge, a more balanced perspective on things, and

they still have the capacity for learning and creativity."