How good friends, pets and diets are making 50-somethings feel 12 years younger

Research suggests that the average over-50 feels at least 12 years younger.

This generation of YAHs – Young At Hearts – can thank lifestyles that include having good friends, owning a pet and knowing the right things to eat and drink for their younger outlook.

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And there are a number of celebrity fiftysomethings who have retained their youthful vigour, from movie stars Pierce Brosnan, 54, and Bruce Willis, 52, to actresses Kim Cattrall, 51, and Sharon Stone, who celebrates her 50th birthday today.

The Internet and social networking sites in particular have helped a growing number of "silver surfers" stay connected.

Nutriprofile.org, a group which offers free online nutrition analysis, surveyed 1,250 adults aged between 40 and 78, questioning them about their lifestyles, health and habits.

The average adult aged 50 and over felt 12 years and four months younger than they really were.

Those in their forties felt only six years and eight months younger.

Women are better at holding back the years, with the average female YAH feeling at least two years younger than men of the same age.

The reasons for this vary. One in four women has a pet which helps keep them young, either because of the companionship or the exercise of walking them.

Women are also more likely to keep socially active, with 40 per cent citing their friends as a factor in putting off old age.

Among the men, 36 per cent said their partner made them feel young – but only 28 per cent of women said the same.

Forty-nine per cent of men use hobbies and 36 per cent use exercise to keep active.

Other ways to feel young included holidays, spending time with grandchildren, gardening, ballroom dancing, and sex.

Regionally, those in South-West England had the best attitude, feeling 13 years and three months younger than their natural age.

At the other end of the scale, those in the West Midlands felt only nine years and one month younger.