Although the first treatment recommendation in chronic disease guidelines is lifestyle modification, most health care professionals receive little to no training in the clinical application of lifestyle modification or nutrition in their formal medical education. A research study found that participants who completed “Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Essentials” self-reported significant improvement in their knowledge and confidence around lifestyle medicine. Survey respondents also reported that they significantly increased how often they practiced lifestyle medicine and the number of patients with whom they practiced lifestyle medicine.
The course includes a one-hour “Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine,” as well as the first two modules of ACLM’s multi-module Food as Medicine course “Nutrition for Prevention and Longevity” and “Nutrition for Treatment and Risk Reduction.” Together, these courses are intended to spark a paradigm shift toward the treatment of the root causes of chronic disease rather than only addressing the symptoms.
“Congratulations to the American College of Lifestyle Medicine for exemplifying the impact associations have on the industries and professions they represent, and on society at large,” said ASAE President and CEO Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE. “It’s always so incredibly satisfying to see associations going above and beyond their everyday mission to change the world. We’re very proud to spotlight this award-winning initiative.”
Interest in the field of lifestyle medicine has grown rapidly as health systems, payors and policymakers recognize that the traditional style of U.S. medical care that manages the symptoms of chronic disease with ever-increasing quantities of pharmaceuticals and risky procedures is not working. Clinicians, frustrated and disillusioned with the current system, face high rates of burnout, causing some to leave their profession, which only exacerbates the existing physician shortage.
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—a whole food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, positive social connections, and avoidance of risky substances—also provides effective prevention for these conditions.
Since certification began in 2017, almost 6,700 physicians and health professionals have become certified in lifestyle medicine. ACLM’s Health Systems Council, a network of leading health systems working to integrate lifestyle medicine, has grown to 113 health system member organizations from 37 states.
ACLM’s “Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Essentials” course was also recently awarded a “Profiles of Excellence Award” in the medical education category by the American Association of Medical Society Executives (AAMSE).
“The unsustainable trajectory of chronic disease among Americans of all ages must be–and can be–reversed,” ACLM CEO Susan Benigas said. “Health leaders recognize lifestyle medicine as the potential spark to ignite a health care transformation that clinicians and patients desperately want. ACLM’s complimentary ‘Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Essentials’ course is an exceptional first step for clinicians at health organizations interested in helping to lead this transformation. I am grateful to American Society of Association Executives for recognizing the importance and success of this effort.”
About ACLM®
Serving as a transformation catalyst, disruptor of the status quo, and a galvanized force for change, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine is the nation’s medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system, essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole person health. ACLM represents, advocates for, trains, certifies, and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the gaping void of lifestyle medicine—including food as medicine—in medical education, doing so across the entire medical education continuum, while also advancing research, clinical practice and reimbursement strategies. Adding years to lives and life to years, while reining in the alarming, unsustainable trajectory of healthcare spending, is what lifestyle medicine delivers.
Media Contact
alex branch, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 9719835383, [email protected], https://lifestylemedicine.org/
SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine
