The average lifespan has increased by up to 10 years since the 1960s
It is predicted some of today's generation could live up to the age of 120
International conference in anti-ageing skincare launches in London
Leading skin and ageing researchers reveal their secrets for staying young
We want to live long and healthy lives and we seem to be getting better at it: Public Health England recently reported that the life expectancy in England has risen to its highest level.
As an international conference on anti-ageing skincare launches in London this week, we asked leading experts in the field of ageing and longevity research what actually works and what they do themselves to stave off the effects of advancing years...
Dr Marios Kyriazis, 60, medical adviser to the British Longevity Society and the author of books including Stay Young Longer Naturally.
The key to a longer, healthier life is constant change and avoiding routine.
The human brain is made to thrive on uncertainty if it knows exactly what's coming next, it does not thrive.
The body, too, needs stress or stimulation to keep it healthy for longer.
This brings about hormesis, which is when, after mild stimulation such as intense exercise or a period without food, various biochemical processes are activated that try to repair the mild damage that happens to the body.
In doing so they also repair any age-related damage, too.
So eat irregularly constantly changing what you eat, how much and when you eat it.
Gillian Haber, 58, is a retired psychiatrist who specialised in the elderly.
A lot of ageing is genetic and there is nothing you can do to stave off the ageing process. However, what you can do to help is not smoke, take lots of exercise, read lots of books to keep your mind active and avoid wearing old lady clothes.
Obviously you may want to avoid looking like mutton dressed as lamb, but that doesn't mean you have to wear age-appropriate clothes that makes you look older.
You might not be able to wear high heels but you can still wear shoes that are attractive and fashionable.
If you resist the temptation to behave in a certain way and refuse to assume certain stereotypes merely because you are old, it can improve your quality of life, which makes you happier generally.
And if you are happier generally you are probably healthier.
Carol Jagger, 64, is a professor of epidemiology of ageing at Newcastle University's Institute of Health and Society.
As you age most people will know it's important to keep your weight off and stay active but you also need to maintain your upper body strength.
When upper body strength decreases to a certain point you stop being able to dress yourself, shop on your own, get in and out of bed, so you feel the physical affects of ageing and become dependent.
And because women generally tend to be weaker than men, they get to that point quicker.
Mark Birch-Machin, 54, Professor in Molecular Dermatology at Newcastle University, who is speaking at this week's anti-ageing conference.
Anti-ageing really is about your lifestyle rather than a single factor. It's about what you eat for breakfast as well as keeping fit and staying out of the sun.
We've just completed research using a new blood test that measures levels of free radicals in the blood these are the damaging molecules linked to disease and ageing and we found that eating antioxidant-rich food such as blueberries and tomatoes every day reduced the damage caused by the molecules.
Professor Diana Kuh, 63, is the director of the Medical Research Council Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at University College London.
There is no silver bullet but what our research shows is that many of us live very sedentary lifestyles.
And being able to move around isn't just good from a physical perspective, it's also good for your emotional wellbeing, which has a key role to play in healthy ageing.
I recently discovered that when I'm working, in terms of activity, it's equivalent to a day in bed so 18 months ago I bought my first standing desk and I now try to remain healthy by cycling everywhere.
I'm also attempting to improve my work-life balance and have just taken up singing!
Michael West, 63, is head of BioTime, a California-based company specialising in regenerative medicine.
We know that the older you are, the shorter the telomeres. There's also talk about reversing ageing in eyes, for instance, with stem cells. But realistically these are at least three to ten years in the future.
For now there is a consensus building that there is something you can do that could add, say ten years of healthy lifespan: periodically fasting even just for one day every couple of weeks or once a month can have the same positive effect on the body as keeping your weight way down.
So going without food for a day is something that I try to do (though don't always succeed) regularly.
Nick Lowe, 71, is a consultant dermatologist at the Cranley Clinic, London and a clinical professor at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine.
For the last five years I've taken 500mg a day of metformin, a drug used to help control blood sugar levels in diabetes patients.
I don't have diabetes, but there's good evidence it helps prevent the damage sugar can do to cells, which can contribute to ageing.
Rather than wait 20 years for the full results, I take it now (prescribed by my U.S. doctor) because we know it's a safe drug.
I also take vitamin D every morning as it's important for general health but its production is blocked by sunscreen.
I've been on statins for 25 years, because there's good evidence they reduce the risk of disease.
I also take fish oils for heart, brain and skin health, and a baby aspirin (a lower dose than standard aspirin) because it's been shown to lower the risks of heart attacks and other conditions.
Does it all help? I'm nearly 72 and still working hard, five days a week.
Chris Griffiths, 61, is a professor of dermatology at the University of Manchester and a consultant dermatologist at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.
As well as protecting myself against the sun, in recent years I have eaten a daily portion of red or purple berries because they contain a lot of antioxidants which may prevent some age-related damage.
Reducing sugar intake can prevent signs of ageing and may prolong life sugar can detrimentally affect the collagen tissue, a structural protein in skin.
The key is not just to have a longer life, but to have a healthier life.
Joao Pedro Magalhaes is a senior lecturer in the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease at the University of Liverpool.
Each of us must find his or her balance between a healthy lifestyle and the pleasures derived from some unhealthy habits.
I care for my health but I don't overdo it we can try to mitigate some effects of ageing and have a healthy lifestyle to try to live longer, but I don't think there's anything we can do to avoid it.
To quote Woody Allen: ‘You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.'
