Rethinking Healthspan: Science, Prevention & Systemic Change | Milan Longevity Summit 2026

*We have become remarkably good at extending life. The next challenge is making sure those additional years are lived in good health.* Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past century, yet the number of years people spend living with chronic disease and disability remains a major challenge for individuals, health systems, economies, and societies. In this panel from the *Milan Longevity Summit 2026*, *Lars Hartenstein* of the McKinsey Health Institute and *Martin Bloem* of Johns Hopkins University join moderator *Desmond O’Brien* to explore what it would take to shift the focus from lifespan to *healthspan*. Scientific advances are giving us a better understanding of the factors that shape health across the life course. But extending healthspan cannot depend on medicine alone. Nutrition, physical activity, prevention, early intervention, socioeconomic conditions, the environments in which people live and work, and access to effective healthcare all influence whether longer lives are also healthier ones. The conversation explores how these different dimensions can be brought together and what systemic change is required to move prevention from the margins to the centre of our approach to health. How much of the burden of chronic disease could be prevented? Where should governments, health systems, businesses, and individuals focus their efforts? How do we make prevention economically sustainable? And how can the benefits of healthy longevity reach entire populations rather than remain available only to those with the greatest resources? *Participants:* • Lars Hartenstein – Executive Director of Healthy Longevity, McKinsey Health Institute • Martin Bloem – Professor, Johns Hopkins University; Senior Advisor, Kerry and Nestlé • Moderated by Desmond O’Brien – Partner, True Search Ultimately, extending healthspan is not simply a scientific or medical challenge. *It requires redesigning the systems that shape health throughout our lives, moving from treating disease after it emerges towards creating the conditions that allow more people to remain healthy for longer.* The Milan Longevity Summit brings together global leaders across science, policy, business, technology and society to explore longevity through a *One Health* perspective, connecting the health of people with the health of our societies, economies, and planet. *Learn more about the Milan Longevity Summit:* https://www.milanlongevitysummit.org/speakers26 #MilanLongevitySummit #Healthspan #HealthyLongevity #OneHealth #Prevention #HealthyAgeing #PublicHealth #HealthSystems #Longevity #FutureOfHealth