'I Found My People' at Lifestyle Medicine 2023

"I Have Finally Found My People!"

That was by far the common refrain I heard this month at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) annual conference in Denver. More than 3200 physicians, health professionals, and health system leaders attended in person or virtually to learn how to incorporate lifestyle medicine into their practices and help patients prevent, treat, and potentially reverse chronic disease.

Cate Collings, MD

It wasn't only the learning opportunities that drew us together, but also the belief that our system of healthcare is failing — failing both patients and clinicians trapped in a costly but ineffective model of "sick care" that encourages the management of symptoms with ever-increasing quantities of pharmaceuticals and procedures rather than actually treating the root causes of disease and restoring health.

Meeting and engaging with fellow clinicians who also wish to reignite the joy and purpose in our work was a reminder that we are not alone and, collectively, can achieve real change. The opening keynote by Dr Dean Ornish, aka the "Father of Lifestyle Medicine," about the epidemic of loneliness and isolation and the healing power of the lifestyle medicine pillar of social connections spoke to many of us in more ways than one.

How to Practice Lifestyle Medicine

Just as invigorating was the conference's continuing shift from emphasizing the "why" of lifestyle medicine to the "how" of lifestyle medicine. The evidence is now clear that lifestyle behavior drives the vast majority of chronic diseases and that adequately dosed lifestyle medicine can effectively prevent, treat, and even reverse obesity, diabetes, or heart disease. A greater number of this year's conference sessions focused on "how" to sustainably incorporate lifestyle medicine into a practice and empower patients to achieve their goals.

One highlight was the progress made for lifestyle medicine clinicians in receiving fair reimbursement for the care they provide. Dr Padmaja Patel of Wellvana led an impressive panel of primary care physicians who have creatively adopted new lifestyle medicine care delivery models amid shifting reimbursement structures and value-based care contracts. Other sessions demonstrated how to build a tailored business case for lifestyle medicine, develop outcomes-based and financially sustainable models within a population health framework, and avoid patient copays on shared medical appointments.

Optimal nutrition is key among the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, and we learned practical tips for helping patients transition to whole-food, predominantly plant-based eating patterns. But the impact of physical activity, or lack thereof, on our nation's health and national security was driven home in a powerful session moderated by Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, president and chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise, and joined by panelists, including several representing the US Air Force. More than three quarters of Americans aged 17-24 are unqualified physically to enter the military. Basic trainees from regions with the poorest health statistics get hurt more frequently during active service. What followed was a helpful conversation about the collaborative opportunities to integrate and scale physical activity initiatives nationally.

More than 1600 attendees were physicians, but the conference also drew RNs, NPs, RDs, PAs, and other health professionals. PAs and NPs can contribute greatly to the practice of lifestyle medicine. Nurses, consistently the health professionals most trusted by patients, magnify lifestyle medicine's impact through relationship-building and frequent patient interactions.

All the scientific evidence in the world supporting lifestyle behavior change won't amount to much if clinicians aren't prepared to guide patients through the behavior-change process. ACLM President Dr Beth Frates, of Harvard Medical School, led an instructive discussion with panelists experienced in the art of facilitating lifestyle behavior changes about health-coaching techniques and behavior-change theories to support and empower patients.

Health equity was a consistent theme. Experienced lifestyle medicine clinicians practicing in historically underresourced communities, such as Drs Kofi Essel and Qadira Ali, provided concrete examples of innovative strategies to deliver whole-person care to give every patient — no matter where they live — a fair chance at optimal health.

Free Lifestyle Medicine Training

The momentum was unmistakable. Already, 33,000 clinicians have registered for ACLM's commitment highlighted by the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to offer complementary lifestyle and food as medicine courses to 100,000 clinicians (since then, up to 200,000). More than 5000 clinicians have become certified in lifestyle medicine since certification began in 2017, and about 1200 physicians and other health professionals have registered to take the exam this year.

The 2024 conference will mark ACLM's 20th anniversary — 20 years of pursuing its vision of a world wherein lifestyle medicine is the foundation of health and all healthcare. Join me and others who have "found their people," and learn how to make that positive future a reality!

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