A five-day diet which mimics fasting could slow down ageing, add years to life, boost the immune system and cut the risk of heart disease and cancer, scientists believe.

The scheme was originally budgeted to cost taxpayers $18 million a year. That has now swollen to $26 million, and will continue to rise if nothing is done.

As many as one in 10 older people may be victims of financial elder abuse, writes Diana Clement.

Completing the crossword and taking regular exercise may ease the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease - but will not prevent it, scientists say.

In an attempt to make Metro's most powerful Aucklanders list, Peter Bromhead decides to rebrand as a gossip columnist.

Use these tests to check whether you're as fit as you should be for your age, and learn what you can do to improve your fitness.

There is a universal blueprint for females: career, marriage, house, baby, career... anyone who fails to adhere has somehow failed, writes Bryony Gordon.

Ageing is great if you mature like a fine wine. But what if, like most men, you mature more like a ripe cheese? Martin Daubney explains the options.

Ryman Healthcare posted a 24pc gain in annual profit to $241.9m as the value of its properties increased and revenue rose.

I addressed the Older Women's Network at the Positive Ageing Centre in Takapuna last Saturday. This is a group of local women "who are no longer young in years but know no limits age wise".

Drinking orange juice every day could help improve brain function in elderly people, research has suggested.

Nearly 33,000 New Zealanders live in retirement villages, up from just over 24,000 people three years ago.

What's a fitting reward for being ambitious, stylish, beautiful, passionate? Something that speaks to the hearts of smart, successful women in 2015?

Older women are more likely to take up exercising and stick to it if they are part of a small group guided by a personal trainer.

Some regions will "fail" economically and perhaps socially unless we help them to adjust, the Salvation Army says.

Lady Luck has waved her magic wand upon Peter Bromhead, who claims to have won the chance to spin Lotto's lucrative spinning wheel.

A scientist specialising in anti-ageing research has made the bold claim that he will live to be 150, and he takes 100 drugs a day in pursuit of that goal.

I've had to stop sitting next to businessmen on the bus. They always try to fold themselves inwards when I sit down, Verity Johnson writes.

A new index of "wellbeing" has found that New Zealanders get more "awesome" as they get older.

I'm a little odd as I have always loved to be around old people, writes Deborah Hill Cone. As a child I found other children terrifying.

One fear that hangs over your life as a 20 something, writes Verity Johnson, is that when you hit 30 you've lost it.

Here's something that might please those in their 50s - researchers are suggesting that 60 is the new middle age.

If you're middle-aged or older and you work out, it's not too long before the question crosses your mind: I wonder if this could kill me?

Painting, drawing and sculpting in old age lowers the risk of developing the first signs of dementia by 73 per cent, an American study has shown.

I am really struggling with ageing. The kids have left home, my husband is boring and I feel I have nothing to look forward to except the TV guide.

Why does age matter so much in our society? Why it is used as the litmus test for one's presumed capabilities, skills, and proficiency?

The thought of starting over can be daunting. Over the years after helping scores of empty-nesters downsize, we've found that folks sometimes lose their way during this phase.

Attending a fundraising dinner recently, I found myself sitting next to a surgeon from the United States, writes Peter Bromhead.