Gary Shiels

Would moving to a Blue Zone guarantee a long and healthy life - or is the secret closer to home? In a country as amazing as Australia, our seniors should be looking forward to healthy, active longevity - not facing a sedentary future characterised by decrepitude.

In this powerful and practical guide, newly minted octogenarian Dr Gary Shiels - urban planner, healthy ageing researcher and lifelong advocate for active living - unpacks what it really takes to age successfully. Drawing on first-hand interviews with healthy Australian Elders and inspired by the world’s longest-lived people, he challenges the myths that keep older Australians sedentary, over-medicated and resigned to decline.

Instead, he offers a new approach to ageing: where a positive attitude, exercise, nutrition and staying connected, are the critical parts of ageing successfully. Dr Shiels asks you to embrace a new paradigm, where 60 is your new 40, 80 is you new 60 and 100 is your new 80. Finally, he shows you how to select a ’successful ageing curve’ so you can lower your biological age, even as you grow older.

From exercise to mindset, diet to social connection, this book is both research and roadmap - a blueprint for retaining strength, avoiding falls and thriving in your 80s, 90s and beyond.

This is not a medical manual. It’s a personal, evidence-based manifesto for taking control of how you age - written by someone who has lived the lifestyle he champions, and has the biological age, physical strength, and hard-won wisdom to prove it.

Enjoy the journey!