Foundations of Lifestyle Medicine and its Evolution

The term “Lifestyle Medicine” is a vague one to many people. To some, it might seem not to say much. Others might be reminded of social media influencers pushing fad diets. Truth be told, it isn’t a particularly informative term.

What it represents is the emergence over the past two decades of an increasing consensus that many aspects of modern life have been deleterious to our health. Physicians trained in Lifestyle Medicine apply the evidence base in mainstream scientific research across six “pillars”: nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, avoidance of risky substances, stress management and social connection, to prevent and often manage the diseases of our modern era.

This article outlines the origin and rationale for Lifestyle Medicine across all disciplines of medicine and also as an emerging specialty in its own right. Since all six pillars depend on behaviour change, it is this aspect of Lifestyle Medicine that Dr Ayling focuses on.

Lippman D, Stump M, Veazey E, Guimarães ST, Rosenfeld R, Kelly JH, et al. Foundations of Lifestyle Medicine and its Evolution. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes. 2024;8(1):97–111.