Add life to your golden years - Dance, play and keep moving

World Health Day April 7th will focus on the importance of healthy ageing and, whilst you can't do anything about growing old, you can do things to reduce your chances of developing heart disease. Keeping control of your weight and waistline, cutting down on alcohol, fat and salt, stopping smoking and taking regular exercise could all increase your chances of living a happier, longer life.

It's estimated that by 2018, 7 million older people in the UK will not be able to walk up a single flight of stairs without rest.  So, how will you be celebrating your twilight years? Will you be dancing the night away or will you be living with chronic illness because of the unhealthy lifestyle choices you made in your youth?

Do what you enjoy and start small. Increments of 10 minutes of activity are all you need to kick-start your active lifestyle. Make your 10 minute sessions add up to 30 minutes a day at least five days per week to make a real difference to your heart health.

Exercise can be anything that makes your heart beat faster; short walks, a blitz of spring cleaning, playing on the Wii with the grandchildren or dancing. You may even want to polish your bicycle and take it for a spin around the block like the good old days.  

Golf can be a great benefit to your health in later years and can add some serious foot mileage into your week. You may find other benefits of regular golf too, such as a reduced waist size, weight loss and improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

You don't have to venture far from home to enjoy some heart healthy activity; gardening offers many opportunities for exercise. A vegetable patch creation could mean your arteries get a regular antioxidant boost at a fraction of the cost, so dig away those weeds and replace them with an array of colour to help burn away excess calories and trim your waistline.

After all that activity you deserve a good rest too. Relaxation is essential for heart health and your busy lifestyle is to aid a good night's sleep.

So add years to your life and life to your golden years with recreation that is fun and heart healthy and enjoy an old age filled with good health and vitality that's free from disability and heart disease.

For more information and advice about healthy living, visit heartresearch.org.uk.