Getting older does not automatically mean becoming unhealthy.
Age does increase the likelihood of certain conditions, but many of the factors that influence health in later life begin changing long before symptoms become obvious. Blood pressure can rise quietly. Muscle can gradually decline. Sleep may deteriorate, waist circumference can increase and changes in sexual or urinary function may be dismissed as inevitable.
A better approach is to pay attention to the direction your health is moving rather than waiting for something to become a problem.
“Ageing well is not about trying to keep every measurement exactly where it was at 25,” says Ana Carolina Goncalves, Superintendent Pharmacist at Pharmica. “It is about protecting the things that matter for long term health, including cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, metabolic health and mental wellbeing, while taking persistent changes seriously enough to investigate them.”
Protect muscle before you notice losing it
Strength is easy to take for granted when everyday activities still feel effortless.
However, preserving muscle becomes increasingly important with age. Muscle supports mobility, balance, bone health and the ability to remain independent later in life.
Men do not need to pursue bodybuilding to benefit from resistance exercise.
Weight training, resistance bands and bodyweight movements can all help. The important factor is regularly challenging the major muscle groups rather than relying exclusively on cardiovascular exercise.
Walking, running, cycling and swimming remain valuable for cardiovascular fitness, but adding some form of strength training creates a more complete exercise routine.
Protein intake also matters. Regular meals containing suitable sources such as fish, eggs, lean meat, dairy products, pulses or tofu can help support normal muscle maintenance.
Know your cardiovascular numbers
Some of the conditions with the greatest effect on long term health can develop without obvious warning signs.
High blood pressure is a classic example.
You cannot reliably tell what your blood pressure is based on how you feel, which makes occasional measurement worthwhile.
Cholesterol and blood glucose can also provide useful information about cardiovascular and metabolic risk, particularly when considered alongside factors such as smoking, family history, age and body composition.
The aim is not to become obsessed with individual numbers.
It is to identify an unfavourable trend early enough to do something about it.
Changes to physical activity, diet, weight and smoking can all influence cardiovascular risk, while some people will require medication depending on their individual circumstances.
Think about waist size, not only weight
Bathroom scales can be useful, but they do not provide the whole picture.
Where body fat is stored matters as well.
Carrying more excess weight around the abdomen is associated with increased metabolic and cardiovascular risk. Waist measurement can therefore provide useful additional information alongside body weight.
This does not mean men need to maintain the physique they had in their twenties.
A more realistic objective is preventing gradual weight gain from becoming something that meaningfully affects blood pressure, mobility, blood glucose or cardiovascular risk.
Small changes maintained for years are generally more useful than repeatedly switching between periods of overeating and extreme dieting.
Keep your fitness useful
Exercise is sometimes judged by calories burned or changes in appearance.
As men get older, another question becomes increasingly relevant: what can your body comfortably do?
Can you climb several flights of stairs without becoming unusually breathless? Carry heavy shopping? Get down to the floor and stand back up easily? Walk a substantial distance without discomfort?
These are simple examples of functional fitness.
Maintaining cardiovascular endurance, strength, balance and mobility can help protect quality of life as much as chasing a particular appearance.
If fitness has declined significantly, the answer is not necessarily an intense new training programme. Gradually increasing activity from your existing level is often more sustainable.
Treat sleep as a health marker
Poor sleep can gradually become normalised.
Men may blame tiredness on work, family responsibilities or simply getting older, but persistent daytime sleepiness deserves more attention.
Regularly sleeping poorly can affect mood, concentration, appetite and motivation to exercise.
Loud snoring accompanied by pauses in breathing, choking sounds during sleep, morning headaches or considerable daytime sleepiness may also warrant assessment for obstructive sleep apnoea.
Alcohol can make sleep quality worse even when it initially makes falling asleep easier.
Improving sleep therefore sometimes means looking beyond bedtime itself and considering alcohol, caffeine, body weight, stress and the consistency of the daily routine.
Do not assume sexual changes are simply part of getting older
Sexual function can change with age, but persistent erectile difficulties should not automatically be accepted as inevitable.
Erections depend partly on healthy blood flow, which means conditions affecting the cardiovascular system can also affect erectile function.
Diabetes, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, certain medicines, psychological factors and other conditions can all contribute.
Repeated erectile dysfunction can therefore be worth discussing with a healthcare professional, particularly when it is a new development.
Where treatment is clinically appropriate, PDE5 inhibitors such as sildenafil can be considered. Sildenafil is the active ingredient in Viagra and works by supporting the normal blood flow response involved in producing an erection during sexual stimulation.
It does not automatically produce an erection and is not suitable for everyone. Sildenafil must not be used with nitrate medicines because the combination can cause a potentially dangerous fall in blood pressure.
Treating the erection problem also does not remove the value of investigating why it developed.
Pay attention to urinary changes
Changes in urination become more common as men get older, particularly as the prostate enlarges.
Needing to urinate more frequently, waking repeatedly during the night, difficulty starting, a weaker stream or feeling that the bladder has not completely emptied can all occur with benign prostate enlargement.
These symptoms do not necessarily indicate prostate cancer.
However, persistent changes are still worth discussing with a healthcare professional rather than assuming that nothing can be done.
Blood in the urine, an inability to urinate or other significant new symptoms require more urgent assessment.
Review alcohol before it becomes automatic
Drinking habits can change gradually.
A drink with dinner becomes two. Friday and Saturday expand into several evenings each week. Because the change happens slowly, overall intake can become higher than expected.
Alcohol can affect blood pressure, body weight, sleep, liver health, mood and sexual function.
Keeping track of actual consumption for a few weeks can be surprisingly informative.
For men who drink regularly, introducing alcohol free days and reducing the amount consumed in each sitting may be easier to maintain than relying on occasional periods of complete abstinence followed by a return to the previous routine.
Do not neglect mental wellbeing
Ageing brings changes beyond physical health.
Career pressures, caring responsibilities, relationship changes, bereavement, retirement and concerns about health or finances can all affect mental wellbeing.
Men may express depression or anxiety differently. Persistent irritability, withdrawing from social activities, increased drinking, sleep problems or losing interest in activities that were previously enjoyable can all deserve attention.
There is no benefit in waiting until mental health reaches crisis point before discussing it.
Maintaining social relationships, regular activity and a sense of routine can all support wellbeing, but persistent symptoms should be discussed with an appropriate healthcare professional.
Review medicines rather than simply accumulating them
The likelihood of taking regular medication increases with age.
That makes periodic medication review increasingly useful.
A medicine that was appropriate several years ago may require review if health circumstances have changed. Different medicines can also interact, while over the counter products and supplements are sometimes forgotten when people are asked what they take.
Keep an up to date list and make sure healthcare professionals know about prescription medicines, over the counter treatments and supplements.
Never stop a prescribed medicine simply because you suspect it may be causing a problem. Instead, discuss the concern so the treatment can be reviewed safely.
Maintain the health you want to have later
Healthy ageing rarely depends on one dramatic intervention.
It comes from protecting cardiovascular fitness before everyday activity becomes difficult, maintaining muscle before strength has substantially declined and paying attention to changes in sleep, weight, mood, urinary function and sexual health rather than dismissing them automatically.
The objective is not to avoid ageing.
It is to reach later life with as much physical function, independence and good health as possible.
That makes middle age and beyond an important time to think proactively. Know the important trends in your health, keep moving, maintain strength and seek advice when something meaningfully changes.
The earlier a genuine health issue is recognised, the more opportunity there usually is to manage it effectively.
