Lifestyle medicine practitioners including physicians and all other healthcare professionals must be aware of the impact of intensity and dosing of prescriptions in the six pillars. There can be a high or low intensity intervention offered by the LM practitioner. Then, there is the intensity of change dictated by the patient and the patient’s response to the intervention. The patient’s responsiveness to change and the coordination of the intervention to match this level of readiness to change will help patients move forward in their lifestyle journeys to adopt and sustain routine exercise, nutritious and delicious eating patterns, sound sleep, positive social connections, stress resiliency practices, and avoiding risky substances. When high dose interventions are implemented or high intensity change is experienced by the patient, it is important to factor in the fact that patients taking medications like antihypertensives, and diabetes medications may need prescription adjustments to accommodate their bodies’ responses to the healthy lifestyle changes. Sharing detailed descriptions of lifestyle medicine interventions in the research, in CME presentations, and in conversations will help LM practitioners to gain a better understanding of the specialty’s impact as well as help it to realize its full potential.
Purpose of review: The current article will highlight recent trends and novel approaches to behavior change strategies in nutrition. Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals play key roles in counseling patients on lifestyle change, which is critical for patients with chronic conditions. Nutrition science continues to advance, and new approaches to behavior change are needed for successful implementation at the individual and population level. Recent findings: The solutions to obstacles around healthful eating patterns are varied, population-dependent, and require a multipronged approach. One area of focus is the language around behavior change, ensuring it is clear and emphasizes its multifactorial nature. For young adults, the careful use of video games and social media may be essential. For older adults, altering food consistency and ensuring proper nutrient intake are crucial factors. Vulnerable populations remain susceptible to malnutrition and need special attention. Despite significant advances in managing and treating diseases, there are still gaps in nutrition counseling and behavior change efforts. Summary: Every age and stage of life needs a focus on healthful foods, and nutrition counseling at each stage has its unique nuances. Careful attention to the language of change and the phrasing used in counseling is vital for educating, connecting with, and empowering patients to change. Changing healthcare operations and provider behavior around nutrition counseling is a part of the solution to the worldwide problem of unhealthy eating patterns and practices.
Medical Students experience high levels of stress throughout their four years. When the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this, there was a need for programming and this created an opportunity to provide a whole person, lifestyle medicine approach to enhance medical student wellbeing. Methods. Two student leaders and one faculty member created a 12-week program that addressed the 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine as well as positive psychology. The program was offered to all first year students, and within 12 hours the roster was full with 15 students. The program was held weekly by Zoom for 1-2 hours. Results. Attendance was high each week with full participation from everyone present. In the post program evaluation form, conducted one year after completion of the program, 100% of respondents reported they would recommend this group to another medical student, 71% reported they used tools learned from the group at least weekly. Participants noted that growth mindset, gratitude, mindfulness, priorities, and relationship building were the most used well-being strategies learned in the program. Conclusion. An intervention that is based on the 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine and positive psychology and presented by Zoom is feasible in medical school and well accepted by medical students.
The habits and practices that individuals adopt in their daily lives profoundly impact their quality of life and also their short and long-term health and risk of developing chronic disease. This is the fundamental basis of the rapidly emerging field of lifestyle medicine. Lifestyle medicine has begun to take its place in mainstream academic medicine but more needs to be done. Despite the fact that the benefits of regular physical activity, proper nutrition, weight management, avoidance of risky substances, and connection to other people are strongly supported in the academic literature, many mainstream physicians have been slow to embrace the overall concept. The reluctance to embrace the concept of lifestyle medicine may be the result of inadequate physician education in this overall field. The purpose of the current article is to provide an overview of the robust academic evidence supporting the fundamental principles of lifestyle medicine and offer advice for physicians about how to obtain additional education in this area. We particularly emphasize the need for medical schools and academic physicians to become more knowledgeable and offer instruction in lifestyle medicine.
The time is NOW for Lifestyle Medicine. In this review based on a presentation at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) 2021 annual conference, ACLM Current President Cate Collings, MD, Immediate Past-President Dexter Shurney, MD, and President Elect Beth Frates, MD, share insights on the current state of lifestyle medicine (LM). Interest in LM has greatly advanced in the face of disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded educational opportunities in the field, and a rapidly changing healthcare landscape. With growing access to virtual care, advancing technologies, growing emphasis on home-based chronic care, continuing corporate healthcare mergers and acquisitions, and widening adoption of personalized, patient-empowered treatments, the time is ripe for LM interventions to move to the mainstream. As health investments and costs skyrocket, and new players enter the scene, traditional models of payments, reimbursements, and incentives are slowly being upended. Companies and healthcare systems are finally recognizing the scientific evidence and powerful but undervalued potential of LM to accelerate healthy outcomes while controlling costs. Taken together, the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth in LM educational opportunities, and the evolving “business of medicine landscape” signal that the time for lifestyle medicine is NOW.
The power of lifestyle as medicine was perceived thousands of years ago. There is now consistent and compelling science to support the important influence of lifestyle on health. Approximately 80% of chronic disease and premature death could be prevented by not smoking, being physically active, and adhering to a healthful dietary pattern. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, dementia, and cancer are all influenced by lifestyle choices. Despite the ample evidence about what behaviors promote health, confusion still prevails among the general population. This is particularly true with regard to diet. Confusing nutrition messages from scientists, the media, the food industry, and other sources have made it all but impossible for any single authority to convey persuasively the fundamentals of healthful eating. The case is made here that a global coalition of diverse experts has the power to do what no individual can: clarify and popularize an understanding of the fundamentals of a health-promoting, sustainable pattern of diet and lifestyle, and rally the general public to their consistent support.
Pediatricians ensure the health and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults, focusing on preventing, diagnosing, and treating a wide range of illnesses, promoting healthy development, and providing guidance to parents on childcare practices. They play an essential role in educating families and addressing physical and mental health concems to help young people thrive. As acknowledged in multiple clinical practice guidelines, the implementation of lifestyle medicine is crucial to achieving this goal.
Lifestyle factors, including physical activity, dietary patterns, sleep, stress response, social connections, and use of risky substances, are increasingly recognized as predictors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cardiovascular health, with significant overlap between the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 guidelines and the 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine (LM). Assessing and addressing lifestyle factors have a foundational role in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and improving cardiovascular health. Sex and/or gender related factors can influence access, engagement, and adherence to guidelines around lifestyle and may lead to differential effects on cardiovascular risk and outcomes that are not well understood. This review summarizes the research on sex and gender factors that impact lifestyle medicine for women, including motivations and barriers to adopt LM recommendations, impact on cardiac risk factors and physiology, and interactions among LM pillars that influence women's cardiovascular risk and outcomes. Recognition of the reproductive age and perimenopausal predictors of higher cardiovascular and cardiometabolic risks can provide windows of opportunity to discuss lifestyle and primary prevention across the lifespan. While more research is needed, a deeper understanding of these sex and gender differences related to lifestyle and heart health for women has the potential to support earlier discussions and referrals when indicated to preventive cardiologists and LM certified clinicians, including physicians, dieticians, exercise physiologists, sleep specialists, social workers, behavioral therapists, and coaches. Alignment of LM education with women's symptoms, preferences, and goals may increase adherence to guidelines around physical activity, whole food plant predominant nutrition, sleep quality and quantity, stress management, social connections and avoidance of risky substances, leading to reduced cardiovascular risk and improved cardiovascular health and outcomes.
The practice of Lifestyle medicine (LM) focuses on helping patients make healthy choices to prevent and treat disease. While such interventions are considered first-line treatment for many diseases, many medical schools have not yet been able to include lifestyle medicine classes in the core curriculum but most are able to offer a parallel curriculum that does not interfere with the schedule of core classes. Lifestyle Medicine Interest Groups (LMIGs) are being created around the country and around the globe. Many students and faculty members are interested in starting and sustaining a LMIG at their schools, but some do not have enough funding or they lack the framework that provides structure to their efforts. To address this situation, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has encouraged the development of LMIGs, which are student-run organizations that provide a parallel curriculum in LM. To support and strengthen this effort, the ACLM initiated the Donald A. Pegg award to fund four allied health students in founding and augmenting their institution’s LMIGs. The 2016 inaugural winners were James Gardner, P. Elainee Poling, Alyssa Abreu, and Jessie M. Hipple. Their LMIG activities have included events such as nutrition and cooking classes, exercise prescription seminars, group fitness sessions, and patient lifestyle counseling in various clinical settings. Pearls of wisdom for building successful LMIGs include cultivating strong faculty mentorship, marketing the personal benefits to students who attend activities, and collaborating with other student groups.