Inaugural lecture Prof. dr. Edgar G.A.H. van Mil
Appointed Professor of “Childhood Obesity” at the Faculty of Science and Engineering
"Obesitas bij kinderen als een convergentiepunt tussen humane en planetaire gezondheid"
Childhood obesity is an urgent medical and social issue that calls for an integrated approach to health. As the rise in obesity and related cardiometabolic complications is partly determined by the living environment and the food system in which children grow up, sustainable prevention and treatment cannot be limited to individual lifestyle changes. This chair therefore focuses on the connection between human and planetary health, with childhood obesity serving as a concrete starting point for scientific research and innovation. The gut microbiome provides a relevant link for investigating the interplay between diet, metabolic health and environmental factors. By linking medical knowledge with nutritional science, behavioural sciences, sustainable food production, data science and artificial intelligence, the aim is to identify interventions that promote both children’s health and that of the planet. The central ambition is the transition from a healthy to the healthiest lifestyle: a lifestyle that enhances human health within the limits of a healthy planet.
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