If so, then apparently 70 is the best age to hit the gym - so no Lazyboy recliners and Countdown after all.

"Exercise is the best investment older people can make," says fitness guru Joanna Hall, whose walking programmes are particularly good for the over-70s. "In fact, the older you are, the more dramatic the benefits you get from exercising." And it's never too late. "People who have never exercised before will get particularly good results," says Hall.

Obviously starting younger is the ideal but the addage "better late than never" fits here. Somehow the baby-boom generation have never quite embraced the concept of exercising - hence the hip replacements, Stena stairlifts, diabetes, cholestrol and heart problems which seem to plague the older generation. Our parents were young in the 60's & 70's, when a myriad labour saving devices were invented and embraced with open arms. In those days smoking was considered cool and sophisticated and no-one had even heard of the 14 units of alcohol guideline. I often wish I'd been born in those halycon days when ignorance truly was bliss!

Even now the older generation largely absolve themselves of any responsibility for their health problems. Instead they rely on the wonders of medical science to keep them alive - for instance taking a pill to lower cholestrol instead of watching their diet.

Is it a generation thing though? One only has to read the press to wonder just how many of us, the "enlightened" generation, take responsiblity for our health?

Read the full article here.