We are living longer than ever before. But are we actually living better for longer?

In her recent interview with The Wisdom Vault podcast, Professor Andrea Bitta Maier, Oon Chiew Seng Professor in Medicine and Co-Director of Centre for Healthy Longevity at challenges one of the most common assumptions about ageing — that it is simply something we accept and endure.

It isn’t. And more importantly, it shouldn’t be.

Most of us still think about age in a very simple way: How old am I?

But as Prof Maier explains, that number tells us far less than we think. Two people can be the same age on paper, and yet ageing very differently beneath the surface.

This is where her work in precision longevity medicine becomes important. Because the real shift is this: from asking “How old are you?” to asking “How well are you ageing?”

What makes her perspective refreshing is the discipline she brings to a space that is often full of noise.

Longevity today is crowded with bold claims: reversal, optimisation, biohacking.

But Prof Maier draws a clear line.

There is a difference between what is scientifically grounded and what is speculative, commercial, or simply premature.

Her work sits firmly in the former.

In the interview, she breaks down what is actually happening in the science of ageing. Not as a vague concept, but as a biological process that can be studied, measured and, increasingly, acted upon.

This includes understanding the hallmarks of ageing, and how different systems in the body decline at different rates. Which leads to a more precise approach: not generic advice, but targeted, evidence-based interventions.

And yet, what makes the conversation particularly relevant is not just the science. It is the implication.

Because if we now have better ways to understand ageing, then the responsibility shifts — from passive acceptance to informed agency.

There is also a broader question she raises, quietly but clearly: Who is longevity medicine for?

Today, much of the conversation — and access — still sits with a small, privileged group.

But Prof Maier’s work signals something more important. A move towards:

• integrating longevity into mainstream healthcare
• training doctors differently
• and making these insights more widely accessible

Because if we are serious about the 100-year life, then this cannot remain a niche.

In DSFP’s signature module, Thriving in the 100-Year Life, Prof Maier brings this lens into the room.

Not as theory. But as a way of helping leaders rethink what longer lives actually demand of their health, decisions and futures.

Living longer is not the challenge. Living well, over time, is.

Watch Prof Maier’s full podcast interview here.