Lifestyle Medicine
What is Lifestyle Medicine?
The definition of lifestyle is the way in which a person lives. For example, its their interests, opinions and behaviours and the behavioural orientations as an individual, group or culture. In addition, people’s lifestyles are influenced by many factors including environment, income, age, education, socio-economic status and wealth.
The definition of medicine on the other hand, is the practice of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease (Oxford Dictionary, n.d)
Lifestyle Medicine
When we connect these two words, “Lifestyle Medicine”, we begin to explore the concepts that our lifestyle practices, if they are poor choices, of food and drink and physical inactivity; and or poor mental state like anxiety, depression; not liking our jobs, physically and mentally; and our environment such as if there is conflict within the home and or our living conditions are not great, can influence and bring about chronic disease. However, with early intervention and modification to what we can control, like our current habits of poor lifestyle factors to better lifestyle practices, can delay, reverse and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
Chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease are the leading causes of death around the world (Lee, Brellentnin, Thompson, Sui, Lee & Lavie, 2017). And these results indicate that lifestyle factors such as nutrition, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol consumption and stress, have a major role to play in the development of these diseases (AIHW, 2016).
Lifestyle medicine, is it a new concept?
Lifestyle Medicine is a relatively new concept for modern medicine, that professionals may adopt, however this concept is not new. In the 1950’s, when research around tobacco highlighted the fact that cigarette smoking increased the risk of lung cancer, many people were taken by surprise. For Instance, cigarette smoking was a right of passage through the teenage years, no different to driving a car. In contrast, 60 years on, smoking is now regarded as one of the most significant risk factors for many kinds of cancer (AIHW, 2016).
So why is Lifestyle Medicine needed to improve our health outcomes?
Think back for a moment to smoking. It is a lifestyle practice many people adopted for years. Yet today, we now know that by not smoking it also reduces the risk of lung cancer and chronic disease, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
There is also a growing body of evidence that supports the practice of Lifestyle Medicine (Kushner and Mechanick, 2015). And the evidence strongly points to assisting individuals and their families to adopt certain behaviours that can improve health and wellbeing namely, a healthy diet, physical activity, moderate alcohol consumption and not smoking. In addition, making these healthy lifestyle choices as part of everyday life not just on a short-term basis.
The aim then is to change a person’s perception and become aware of the importance of lifestyle medicine, which introduces adopting a healthy lifestyle practice. This then leads to new behaviours.
Do you want to find out more about lifestyle medicine? And do you want to take back control of your own health and wellbeing?
You can start by creating healthy habits around goal setting and nutrition.
I am an accredited nutritionist (A.Nutr) with the Nutrition Society of Australia. And I can help you achieve your nutrition goals.
I am now taking bookings for a six month subscription package on-line/ or face to face, tailored to fit your individual needs and focusing on you and your nutrition goals.
This package includes:
Individualised nutritional analysis and prescription with three follow up consultations.
A three day menu plan that incorporates a balance in your food groups, flexibility in your food choices and achievable food swaps with a shopping list that is refreshed each month.
Ongoing weekly support
A workshop of your choice. You can find the selection here: Workshops
A monthly newsletter to motivate and inspire you.
All at an affordable health cost of $29.95 a week.
Why would you want to do this?
To feel energised.
To support and boost your immune system.
To build self-confidence and self-esteem.
To think clearly and have a better focus.
To decrease anxiety and stress.
To sleep better and feel more rested.
Yes, all this could be yours.
In addition, you are invited to attend a Lifestyle Medicine Workshop on the 21st May in Lismore, NSW.
Follow my facebook page and keep yourself posted for when we publish more details.
In the meantime, check out my web page to see all I have to offer. You won’t be disappointed.
References:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2016). Evidence for chronic disease risk factors. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-disease/evidence-for-chronic-disease-risk-factors/contents/behavioural-and-biomedical-risk-factors
Kushner, R. F & Mechanick, J. I. (2015). Lifestyle medicine-An emerging new discipline. US Endocrinology, 11 (1): 36-40 Doi: 10:179 25/USE.2015.11.01.36
Lee, D., Brellentnin, A. G., Thompson, P. D., Sui, X., Lee, M. I., & Lavie, C. J. (2017) Running as a key lifestyle medicine for longevity. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 60, 45-55 doi: 10.1016/j.pcad.2017.03.005
Sarris, J., O’Neil, A., Coulson, C. E., Schweitzer, I., & Berk, M. (2014). Lifestyle medicine for depression. BMC Psychiatry. 14:107 doi: org/10.1186/1471-244X-14-107