Paul Farmer, Age UK Chief Executive: Physical health, mental health & how to age better

This week on The Middle-aged Bodcast, we're joined by Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Age UK, for the Season 7 finale and the final chapter of our support for Age UK's Act Now, Age Better campaign.Paul joins us to talk about how the choices we make in midlife can help us stay healthier, more active and better connected as we get older.We discuss why so many people have difficult relationships with exercise, the barriers that can stop us getting active again in middle age and why finding something you actually enjoy can make such a difference.The conversation also explores the connection between physical and mental health, Paul's previous work as Chief Executive of Mind, how attitudes towards mental health have changed over the past decade and why social connection becomes increasingly important as we get older.Along the way, Paul shares some of his own experiences with running, cycling and parkrun, reflects on his career in the charity sector and tells us what it was like appearing on Desert Island Discs.This episode feels like the perfect way to round off Season 7, and talking with Paul definitely gave us plenty to think about when it comes to getting older and looking after ourselves a bit better.Age UK website: https://www.ageuk.org.ukAct Now, Age Better: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/get-involved/act-now/Paul's episode of Desert Island Discs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002yvwv📱 Follow The Middle-aged Bodcast Online!📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midagedbodcast📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/middleagedbodcast🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/MidagedBodcast🔵 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/middleagedbodcast.bsky.social🌐 Website: https://middleagedbodcast.co.ukIf you've enjoyed listening, we'd love it if you could follow the podcast, leave us a review and drop us a comment. Every follow, rating and bit of feedback helps more people find the Middle-aged Bodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.