Paper 1500159 doi:10.3184/003685015X14467218232110 413 Current Commentary Science Progress (2015), 98(4), 413 – 415 Current Commentary Exercising our brains, muscles and cells to ight the ageing process SAMUEL J.E. LUCAS*, LEIGH BREEN and ANNA C. PHILLIPS School of Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. *E-mail: s.j.e.lucas@bham.ac.uk Keywords: brain health, muscle function, immune system, ageing process Life expectancy is increasing, but the time spent in good health (health-span) is not keeping pace, with implications for health, social care, and pensions resulting in estimated costs more than doubling by 2050. Thus, understanding the many factors that contribute to healthy ageing versus frailty, and potential things we can do to promote healthy ageing is important. For example, how does stress, being physically inactive and poor dietary practices afect our body, leading to unhealthy ageing? As part of the 2015 Pint of Science series, researchers interested in brain health, muscle function and the immune system from the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK discussed the efects that ageing itself and stress, physical activity and nutrition can have on our health and wellbeing. The objective of our presentation was to question the lifestyle that we lead and discuss realistic alternatives to incorporate healthy activity, such as exercise, into our lifestyles to improve our healthy ageing. Here, we summarise this presentation and illustrate the efectiveness of physical activity for ageing healthily. Commentary Public health interventions along with health care and education improvements over several decades have led to an increase in life expectancy and global population ageing 1 . However, an inactive lifestyle in old age is one of the main causes of muscle wasting, which increases the risk of falls, fractures and disability and reduces quality of life 2 – 4 . If we do not ind a way to prevent muscle wasting in old age, we will be faced with an unprecedented number of frail/disabled older individuals in our society. Further, age is one of the most important risk factors for brain diseases such as dementia and stroke 5 , but even with natural healthy ageing, brain structure and function is altered, thus our ageing (and sedentary) population presents a looming economic and social issue. Urgent implementation of efective countermeasures is critical to fully prepare for the challenges of the world’s changing demographics and create an equitable, afordable and sustainable ageing society for the future. Major eforts need to focus on ‘prevention’, with emphasis on modiiable risk factors such as engagement in physical activity right across the life span. Engaging in regular physical activity has clear beneits for our health, preventing and treating diseases that drive poor quality of life, thereby reducing the incidence of morbidity (for example, depression, dementia, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers) and premature mortality. Thus, exercise has a signiicant role to play in both the prevention and treatment of disease as well as minimise the efects of ageing. However, despite its clear beneits, 80 – 100% of us (depending on age and sex) do not meet public health recommendations for physical activity [i.e., ≥ 30 min of moderate-intensity