But could the technology that threatens us also come to our rescue? Recent years have seen digital innovations that are aimed at getting us moving again, whether it’s a simple text message to prompt behaviour change, or wearables technologies that measure and feed back on the user’s every movements and vital sign. Indeed, we are witnessing the growth of a new movement, “the quantified self” that seeks personal knowledge and self-improvement through tracking with technology.

In this Cambridge Festival of Ideas talk Prof Nick Wareham, the Director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit and Centre for Diet and Activity Research, will examine what this technological change means for the individual, and the implications all this data has for a quantified society. How do we capture, process and make use of this data on a global scale? Can policymakers use this technology to nudge us back to a more active way of living? And what ethical implications does this create?

Registration is required to attend this talk, and booking information is available on the Cambridge Festival of Ideas website.