What is the state of world health today? And what does the future hold? For the first time in a while, I sense some real hope. It’s not every day one gets to speak to someone who is and has been at the forefront of public health for decades and decades, and that’s exactly who Dr Derek Yach is.

This episode is incredibly informative, with profound insight on incentives, human nature and psychology, preventative care and how technology really does have a chance to turn the tide on chronic disease.

Dr Derek Yach has focused his career advancing global health. He is currently an independent Global Health Consultant and board member in several major international organizations, and over his esteemed career has been chief health officer for the Vitality Group, and has held key positions at PepsiCo, the Rockefeller Foundation, WHO and Yale University.

Dr Yach was also the founder and president of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating global efforts to reduce deaths and harm from smoking, with the ultimate goal of eliminating smoking worldwide, and the founder of the South African Medical Research Council.

Join us as we explore:

How humans respond to incentives, and the success of a program like Vitality has proven that changing incentives and reducing barriers to healthy behaviors does improve health not only in the short term but the long term.

Hyperbolic discounting is the foundation of sustainable change.

What’s missing? - an explanation why despite enormous increases in mental health medication over the past decades, mental health outcomes have only significantly worsened.

The power of community in everything important to medical and health outcomes. (You won’t believe how often Derek mentions it!!!)

Why it is never too old to begin disease prevention. Yes, you can reset and start fresh in your 60s, 70s, even 80s. Never give up, start with something small today!

The surprising truth of vaping and snus from an expert who has studied tobacco and nicotine use for decades.

What Dr Yach sees as the future of health and healthcare, including health coaches and how a university in New York is making real-time changes for people using wearables in Africa.

Mentions:

Study – Hyperbolic discounting, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbolic_discounting

Study – World’s largest, verified study on physical activity and incentives, https://tinyurl.com/82398tu5 

Study – Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation, http

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