Welcome to What's Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, recorded live at Hay Festival, they're joined by Professor Devi Sridhar, Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, to ask how we can live longer, healthier lives.
They dig into the difference between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, and why the latter is falling in places like the UK. Devi unpacks the biggest factors that shape how well we age, from diet and exercise to mental health and the environments we live in, and shares what decades of working across countries and health systems has taught her.
They challenge the idea that health is simply a matter of individual choice, exploring how the society you're born into can shape your chances of a long and healthy life more than any supplement or wellness hack.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Professor Devi Sridhar Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar Editor: Jo Rowntree Researcher: Grace Revill Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Video Producer: Leon Gower Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.