Dairy UK looks at healthy ageing debate

Dairy UK brought together leading international experts to examine the science behind healthy ageing and the challenge of growing consumer confusion around diet and misinformation.

Held at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, “Strong Foundations, Resilient Futures: Nutrition at Every Stage” convened academics, dietitians and health professionals to explore how nutrition and physical activity support healthspan (the years of life spent in good health) and the role dairy can play across the life course.

As populations age and diet-related conditions continue to rise placing pressure on public health systems and impacting people’s ability to live their lives well, speakers highlighted the importance of high-quality protein, bone-supporting nutrients and overall diet quality in maintaining strength, mobility and independence throughout life.

Sessions examined:

• The science of protein, muscle and bone health
• The evolving role of the gut microbiome
• Nutritional needs during key life transitions, including menopause
• The growing impact of misinformation and influencer-driven diet culture
• Practical strategies to support healthy ageing in older adults and the importance of initiating approaches in midlife or earlier.

Chairing the conference was Clare Johnston, founder of The Honest Channel, who commented, “There is a huge public appetite right now for clear, evidence-based information about how to age well. As a journalist and content creator focused on healthy ageing, I see every day how confused people feel by conflicting headlines and social media soundbites. Many are genuinely motivated to protect their healthspan but they want guidance grounded in robust science rather than trends or fear-based messaging.

“It was a pleasure to chair a conference that brought together leading researchers to explore the role of nutrition and physical activity across the life course. What stood out was the consistency of the message: building and preserving muscle and bone health requires attention to diet quality at every stage of life, and it’s never too late to positively influence the trajectory of ageing. Creating space for nuanced, evidence-led conversations like this is essential if we are to support people in making confident, informed decisions about their long-term health.”

Dr Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK, said, “Consumers are navigating a noisy and often misleading nutrition landscape. We believe it is essential to bring together credible experts to focus on what the evidence actually says.

“The science is increasingly clear: maintaining muscle, bone and metabolic health requires consistent attention to diet quality at every life stage, which is essential for enabling people to live in good health, for longer. Dairy foods provide accessible, nutrient-rich options that can help meet those needs.

“Healthy ageing is not abstract, it’s built day-by-day through diet and physical activity. We strongly believe in bringing health together in evidence-led conversations about how that can be achieved and we were delighted to be able to enable those rich and critical conversations.”

The conference reinforced Dairy UK’s commitment to ensuring that discussions around nutrition, ageing and resilience are grounded in robust science rather than social media narratives.