JUST three months of training by the over-75s can rejuvenate 20 years worth of lost strength, according to a Scottish expert on active ageing.

Dawn Skelton, professor in ageing and health at Glasgow Caledonian University, says exercising in older age boosts health and could help people live independently for longer.

However, she warned older people were being neglected due to a focus on encouraging young people to stay fit, especially around the Olympics.

Professor Skelton is highlighting the dramatic benefits of exercise in later years ahead of a major conference to be held in Glasgow in August.

Organisers hope the World Congress on Active Ageing will kick-start a drive to encourage more activity among older people, who often have fears about the safety of exercising.

Strength training does not necessarily mean going to the gym, but could simply involve standing up from a chair with slow, controlled movements 10 times in a row, or deliberately making 10 trips up and down the stairs at home.

Professor Skelton said: "A bit of effort can bring a huge return. It's never too late.

"It's far more risky to be sedentary than it is to be active, irrespective of your age.

"There is no disease you can't exercise with. Possibly exercise will allow you to reduce your medication, but more importantly it will make you independent for longer.

"Between the ages of 30 and 80, we lose half of our strength and muscle bulk. If you do things to maintain your strength, you can't stop the ageing process, but you can slow it considerably and compress the time you are dependent on someone else."

She said the simple rules were to move more often, try to do a little more each day, and include a mixture of activities.

She added that the message was not just aimed at the newly retired, but at all older people, including those in their 80s and 90s, the fastest-growing section of the population.

"If you are totally unused to exercise, try a little bit and stop and see how you feel the next day. If you feel tired, that's good. Then do a bit more," she said.

The World Congress on Active Ageing is being organised by Glasgow Caledonian University and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) National Centre for Physical Activity and Health.

The prestigious conference, which is coming to the UK for the first time, will bring together hundreds of researchers and health and fitness practitioners from all over the world

The five-day event at the Clyde Auditorium and SECC will begin on August 13, the day after the Olympic Games end. It will launch with a mass participation walking event for older people, Walk With Me.

Lead organiser Prof Skelton said she hoped hundreds of over-65s would sign up for a Senior Pass, giving them access to a range of exercise taster sessions, including T'ai Chi, Nordic walking, juggling and chair-based exercises, as well as a fitness MOT and advice on a tailored exercise programme.

One-fifth of the Scottish population is over 60, according to Scottish Government figures.

Ms Skelton said: "All the emphasis is on getting younger people into activity, to the detriment of older people.

"The Olympics is all about youngsters. The Commonwealth Games is coming to Glasgow in 2014 and again, it's all about young people."

Bob Laventure, a consultant on physical activity and older people with the BHF National Centre for Physical Activity and Health, said: "Our intention is to use all that learning and practice and the profile the conference will have, to raise the bar for older people in Scotland."