Lead: Marina Jotic Ivanovic

Why Lifestyle medicine (LM)?

We live in a world were non communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) are the major cause of morbidity and mortality. According  to the  World Health Organization, NCDs kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally. The main types are cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes. All of them have strong connection with modifiable risk factors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol.

So this is the turning point for us as doctors but also for our patients. Since Lifestyle medicine can address up to 80% of chronic diseases. This is an old cure in a new dress.

What is Lifestyle medicine?

Lifestyle medicine is a branch of medicine which has as goal to maintain optimal health and to prevent, treat and reverse chronic illness across all life stages. The health interventions used in lifestyle medicine include evidence based behavioural strategies, while considering equity and sustainability, to enhance self-management skills for optimizing nutrition, sleep hygiene, stress management, social connection, sexual health and fertility, physical activity and minimizing substance use and environmental exposures. (Definition adopted by the European Lifestyle Medicine Scientific Council https://www.eulm.org/what-is-lifestyle-medicine)

LM has six pillars nutrition, physical activity, sleep hygiene, stress management, substance use, social connections.

The goal of LM is  to apply evidence-based, person-centered care and lifestyle changes to prevent, treat and often reverse chronic diseases.

Why EYFDM and LM?

It is time that this effective tool becomes a strong weapon in hands of GP/FM doctors. LM intervention in our practices can be used in health promotion, disease prevention and treatment. And anyone who wishes to gain more knowledge we invite and welcome to join in.