Podcast: We're Living Longer. Are We Getting Sicker? The 'Healthspan' v Lifespan Debate

Podcast: We're living longer. Are we getting sicker? The 'healthspan' v lifespan debate

We're living longer than ever thanks to dramatic improvements in modern medicine, but are we healthy enough to enjoy those extra golden years? In the wake of the MAHA movement, a recent study claims there's a growing gap between our lifespan and "healthspan," arguing that greater emphasis on preventative care could reduce late-life morbidity. Let's take a closer look at the results.

Move over, longevity: Healthspan is what we should be chasing

I’ve spent more than three decades studying how exercise and diet keep us healthy. But one thing keeps showing up in the data: living longer and living well are not in sync. While we’ve partly solved the first one, we are lagging behind at the second. Over the past century, the average Canadian’s life expectancy has increased by 22 years, to roughly 80 for men and 84 for women. Medical and scientific research may push those numbers higher. Howev…

Healthspan becomes a bigger part of the healthy ageing debate

Living longer is only part of the ageing story. Increasingly, the focus is moving towards how many of those years are spent in good health. Lifespan refers to the total number of years a person lives. Healthspan refers to the years spent in relatively good physical and mental health, with fewer serious limitations caused by disease, pain or loss of independence. Longer life does not always mean healthier life. People may live for many years whil…