Lifestyle Medicine What is it?
Lifestyle Medicine is a relatively new approach employed in the management of lifestyle-related health problems. This branch of evidence-based healthcare emphasises disease prevention over curative medicine. As comprehensively defined by Professor Gary Egger and colleagues, Lifestyle Medicine is “the application of environmental, behavioural, medical and motivational principles to the management (including self-care and self-management) of lifestyle-related health problems in a clinical and/or public health setting” (Egger et al., 2017). It is a proven whole-system approach that helps prevent or reverse several chronic diseases through the implementation of fundamental lifestyle changes. A key feature of this approach is that health consumers play a critical role in the management of their health problems. Thus, in a sense, lifestyle medicine is an excellent link between the prevention of illnesses and treatment.
As a specialty, lifestyle medicine encompasses
A cross of professionals, from clinicians to public health professionals, researchers, and healthcare administrators, among others. And all of them work together to prevent, reverse, or manage lifestyle-related disease conditions.
In modern healthcare settings, especially with the pressure of time in clinician-patient encounters, practical education on disease prevention is often neglected. Lifestyle medicine fills this gap precisely.
The focus of lifestyle medicine is on health problems that result from
Unhealthy diets
Physical inactivity
Smoking
Alcohol consumption
Chronic stress and anxiety
inadequate sleep
Lack of connection to family, friends, community
Physical inactivity
Society and the environment
In addressing the above health problems, Lifestyle Medicine focuses on the six most modifiable behaviours, which are
Diet/nutrition
physical activity
smoking cessation
alcohol harm reduction
sleep and stress management
social connection
Other factors, including society and the environment, require more resources to change.
Lifestyle Health Assessments follow the basic approach used in clinical encounters
- History taking/gathering relevant information.
- Conducting needed tests,
- Providing the patient with a treatment plan and possibly a referral.
From medieval times it has been observed that the way we live affects our health, and logically, changing lifestyle is an excellent approach to the prevention or management of lifestyle-related health problems.
The prevalence of chronic and lifestyle-related ailments poses a significant challenge to global, national, and individual health. Currently, these conditions are accountable for approximately 70% of global deaths and many countries’ healthcare systems are already overburdened by chronic diseases, which are now at epidemic levels everywhere.
The good news is that the link between these diseases and lifestyle is well known. Many chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory conditions, chronic musculoskeletal conditions, diabetes, and mental health disorders, share common risk factors that can largely be prevented or treated.
Lifestyle Medicine offers an excellent solution for the management, treatment, and prevention of chronic conditions by targeting the behavioural, social, and environmental factors that contribute to them. It addresses the modifiable aspects of an individual’s well-being—physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual health, along with health behaviours, environment, and other circumstances. This approach enables individuals to take charge of their own health and make positive changes.
Lifestyle Medicine also acknowledges the other important determinants of disease, and so it includes advocacy for health equity, environmental sustainability, social justice, and corporate responsibility. It recognises that an interdisciplinary approach is the most effective way to address our health needs.
