Your level and type of physical activity and, of course, your diet also play their part. I strongly encourage everyone to be as physically active as possible throughout their whole life, but evidence suggests that the window from 35 years upwards has a more significant effect on your ageing than your physical activity levels in earlier years.

A number of physical changes occur in women pre-menopause, a phase often referred to as peri-menopause. These include:

45 plus: Exercise for your ageing body