Maarten Jan Wensink holds a PhD in Medicine and a PhD in Philosophy and teaches biostatistics and epidemiology as an Associate Professor at the University of Southern Denmark. As one of our Stiftung Südtiroler Sparkasse Global Fellows, he will give insights into his research on population dynamics and ageing.

The significant increase in life expectancy is considered one of the great victories of modernity. Moreover, many of these years of life gained appear to be healthy years of life. These observations have often led to the assumption that (Western) populations as a whole have become healthier, will remain so, or may even become healthier as science advances. However, not only is the increase in life expectancy - an average value - borne by predominantly just one subset of the population, there are also troubling signs that younger generations are in many ways unhealthier than the older ones. Diabetes is spreading in pandemic proportions, reducing fertility and even potentially affecting the health of offspring. We also observe that "normal" health metrics, such as fertility or cholesterol - negotiated between science/biology and economics/culture - are being pushed to unhealthy levels. On top of this, our environment is being polluted by a growing number of chemicals whose actual effects are as yet unknown. Is this situation sustainable? What are the connections with globalisation and glocalisation?

Public Lecture

Is the rise in life expectancy hiding a global health crisis?

10.11.2021 | 17.00 CET