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Episode: The secrets to a healthy old age

Author: BBC Radio
Duration: 00:06:58

Episode Shownotes

How can we stay healthy in old age? Beth and Phil discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.TRANSCRIPT Find a full transcript and worksheet for this episode to help you with your English at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish`/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-241121SUBSCRIBE` TO OUR NEWSLETTER: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish`/newslettersFIND` BBC LEARNING ENGLISH HERE: Visit our website ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish

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Full Transcript

00:00:00 Speaker_03
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

00:00:11 Speaker_02
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Phil. And I'm Beth. Grey hairs, wrinkles and poor eyesight are common signs that our body is growing old.

00:00:24 Speaker_02
Much as we'd like to, we can't avoid ageing, so it's important to stay healthy as we get older.

00:00:31 Speaker_01
In this programme, we'll be hearing about some new research offering fresh advice on how to stay young at heart, an idiom meaning to keep a youthful outlook on life, whatever your age.

00:00:43 Speaker_01
And of course, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

00:00:46 Speaker_02
But 6 Minute English isn't just about vocabulary. We improve your listening skills as well. So why not turn on the audio's subtitles or download the script to read along as you listen? It could also help you answer my question.

00:01:01 Speaker_02
The oldest recorded person ever to have lived was a woman who was born in 1875 and lived to the ripe old age of 122. But which country was she from? Was it A. Japan B. France or C. Italy?

00:01:21 Speaker_01
I am going to say Japan.

00:01:22 Speaker_02
OK, Beth, I'll reveal the correct answer later in the programme. Ageing is partly caused by the body's cells starting to decay, so you might think we're powerless to stop it.

00:01:35 Speaker_02
But listen to this good news from Professor Sarah Harper, Director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing.

00:01:43 Speaker_04
I think the really exciting thing is that even ten years ago we would have thought, yes, it's all to do with our cells. Now we understand this relationship between what we call cell and society and we really can make a difference.

00:01:54 Speaker_04
And in fact a recent paper just came out which said that 60% of our ageing can be controlled by how we live.

00:02:01 Speaker_01
Professor Harper says that 60% of ageing is determined by something we can influence – our lifestyle. So what lifestyle should we choose? Here's Sarah Harper giving more details to BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Health.

00:02:18 Speaker_04
You know there's obviously things like diet which I think we'll come to but there's also a positive attitude and there's been some wonderful twin studies that have been done where you've had twins and they have been able to map them across their lives and if you're positive you actually have far greater health in later life than if you're negative.

00:02:36 Speaker_02
One important factor in aging well is a positive attitude, feeling hopeful, confident and focused on the good things in life.

00:02:45 Speaker_02
This conclusion was based on several twin studies, scientific research which uses twins to study the roles of genetics and environment in human development.

00:02:55 Speaker_02
In studies, Professor Harper found positive twins stayed healthier than negative twins as they aged.

00:03:02 Speaker_01
Loneliness can be another problem as we get older. Here, Professor Sarah Harper explains how in countries like Spain, Italy and Greece, regular social interaction helps people age well.

00:03:15 Speaker_04
Loneliness can have the same impact as smoking in the statistics. And when we talked about the Mediterranean diet, it's also got two other sides. It's got exercise, because these people tend to be outside more because they have that kind of a climate.

00:03:32 Speaker_04
But also they still tend to live... Communal meals. Absolutely. They have communal meals. They tend to live together more in multi-generational households. That is changing a bit. So there's a whole lifestyle around it.

00:03:43 Speaker_02
The healthy food, such as fresh vegetables and fish, eaten by people living in countries around the Mediterranean Sea, is known as the Mediterranean diet.

00:03:54 Speaker_02
Mediterranean cultures have other advantages too, including outdoor exercise, which is easier in warm climates, and communal meals, occasions where people sit down and share food together.

00:04:07 Speaker_01
Mediterranean people are also more likely to live in multi-generational households, where people from two or more generations of a family live together in the same house.

00:04:19 Speaker_01
Not everyone can live in the Mediterranean, but it seems a positive attitude and social interaction are two things we can all do to age well. Speaking of which, what was the answer to your question, Phil?

00:04:33 Speaker_02
OK, well, I asked you about the oldest living person ever recorded. I asked what country they came from. And you said Japan. Well, I can reveal the answer is actually France. A lady in France lived for 122 years and 164 days.

00:04:53 Speaker_02
And if you knew the answer to that, there are other questions about this programme in the quiz on our worksheet, which you can find on our website bbclearningenglish.com.

00:05:03 Speaker_02
OK, let's recap the new vocabulary we've learnt about staying young at heart, an idiom which means to think and behave in a youthful way in spite of growing older.

00:05:14 Speaker_01
People with a positive attitude feel hopeful, confident and focused on the good things in life.

00:05:21 Speaker_02
Twin studies use twins to investigate the roles of genetics and environment in human development.

00:05:27 Speaker_01
A Mediterranean diet describes the foods typically eaten by people living in countries around the Mediterranean Sea, including fresh vegetables, olive oil and fish.

00:05:38 Speaker_02
At a communal meal, people sit down together to talk and share food.

00:05:43 Speaker_01
And finally, a multi-generational household is when people from two or more generations of the same family live together. Once again, our six minutes are up.

00:05:54 Speaker_01
But if you enjoyed this discussion, then head over to the BBC Learning English website to find the accompanying worksheet and quiz, along with loads of other programmes and resources to help you learn English. See you there!

00:06:08 Speaker_05
Bye!

00:06:18 Speaker_03
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00:06:35 Speaker_03
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00:06:42 Speaker_00
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but his biggest idea is to bring a dead body to life. Search for Learning English Stories in your podcast app to listen.

00:07:07 Speaker_05
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00:07:21 Speaker_06
It felt a really safe and welcoming space. After the yoga classes, I felt amazing.

00:07:28 Speaker_05
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00:07:41 Speaker_06
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00:07:52 Speaker_05
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00:08:08 Speaker_05
You just get sucked in so gradually.

00:08:12 Speaker_06
and it's done so skillfully that you don't realise. And it's like this, this secret that's there. I wanted to believe that, you know, that

00:08:26 Speaker_06
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00:08:40 Speaker_06
The only thing I can do is to speak about this and to put my reputation and everything else on the line. I want truth and justice. and for other people to not be hurt, for things to be different in the future.

00:09:02 Speaker_05
To bring it into the light and almost alchemise some of that evil stuff that went on and take back the power. World of Secrets, Season 6, The Bad Guru. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.