dorling kindersley books

Dr Miriam Stoppard's guide to Defying Age will help make your later years the best time of your life. Try our quiz on ageing here, discover Dr. Miriam’s top tips to hold back the years and read on to learn more about the book.

CAN WE DEFY AGE?

There's probably no single mechanism to ageing. In fact, one scientist listed nearly 300 different theories. It follows that there can be no single gene responsible for ageing.

In fact we have NO death genes. Ageing is NOT inevitable. We are NOT programmed to die. The conclusion is that we do a lot to determine the time we die. We can lengthen or shorten our lives by how we live.

That's because longevity lies more in your hands that it does in your genes. You're in the driving seat when it comes to setting the limit on your own morality.

Yes, a particular anti-ageing feature on chromosome 4 is more common in people who live to 100 and other long-lived family members. It turns out, however, that it's hardly crucial, because half the people who live to 100 don't carry it. Genes account for no more than a quarter of any difference in life span between two people. This means that someone who dies at 100 rather than 80can thank their lifestyle for 15 of the extra years and their genes for just 5.