ACPM Lifestyle Medicine Initiative


Lifestyle medicine is a defined scientific approach to decreasing disease risk and illness burden by utilizing lifestyle interventions such as nutrition, physical activity, stress reduction, smoking cessation, avoidance of alcohol abuse, and rest.  Lifestyle medicine is the recommended foundational approach to preventing and treating the majority of chronic diseases currently facing the United States and most Western based cultures.  Because it is natural, and not supported by any core economic driver, lifestyle medicine has not received the emphasis it deserves from educators or providers of health care.

The ACPM Board of Regents in October 2007 agreed to actively pursue the College’s involvement in evidence-based lifestyle medicine.  It was the sense of the Board that the College should actively explore the scientific basis, best practices, and need for education in lifestyle medicine, including behavioral change, risk reduction, and the prevention and treatment of disease through lifestyle approaches.

The Board's decision was triggered in part by the growing awareness of and interest in this field among primary care practitioners, health care purchasers, policy makers, and the general public.  The Board recognized that lifestyle medicine is a core competency of preventive medicine and that the college can play an important role in ensuring that lifestyle medicine programs are based on proven and effective methods of preventing and controlling disease.

Subsequently, the College formed the Lifestyle Medicine Task Force, a group of members with a strong interest in lifestyle medicine, chaired by Liana Lianov, MD, MPH, FACPM.  With input from the Task Force, she developed a framework meant to guide the College's activities in this field.

ACPM's Lifestyle Medicine Activities

Lifestyle Medicine Competency Development Initiative

On July 27 and 28, ACPM convened a blue ribbon panel of physician experts and representatives from leading primary care and other medical associations to develop competencies for practicing physicians in lifestyle medicine.  Dr. Lianov and ACPM President Mark Johnson, MD, MPH, FACPM represented ACPM at this forum.  ACPM Past President George Anderson, MD, MPH, FACPM moderated the meeting.  Advance preparation included developing a literature review that summarized the body of evidence supporting lifestyle interventions.

The group reached consensus on a draft set of domains and competencies that define a minimum base of knowledge, skills, and attitudes physicians should possess to effect evidence-based lifestyle approaches to disease management and prevention.  The panel plans to finalize language and disseminate its findings through publication in a major medical journal. 

The panel also includes representatives from the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and American College of Sports Medicine.  The effort was made possible by grants from Lifestyle Center of America and P&G.

Members of the panel sent an advocacy letter to each member of Congress. You will find an example of this letter at this link.  Although addressed to Senator Akaka of Hawaii, panelists sent a similar letter addressed to each Senator and Representative.  The purpose of the letter was to educate each legislator about the importance of healthy lifestyle behaviors in any effort to reform health care.  The letter resulted from ideas and desires that panel members expressed at the July meeting.  ACPM delivered the letter to Congress on September 8, the day legislators returned from August recess.  Both ACPM and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine endorsed the letter as organizations.
 

Lifestyle Medicine Track at ACPM's Preventive Medicine 2010

Of the four program tracks at Preventive Medicine 2010 in Crystal City, VA, one is the Clinical Preventive and Lifestyle Medicine Track.  It covers a wide range of topics in evidence-based clinical preventive and lifestyle medicine. The range of topics covered includes health promotion, early clinical detection and case finding, and the application of environmental, behavioral, medical and motivational principles to the management of lifestyle-related health problems in a clinical setting. Implicit in this construct is the need for physicians to understand better the risk factors and etiologies of diseases as they relate to lifestyle, and have the skills to implement meaningful behavioral changes in both individuals and groups. This track is exploring the following session topics for 2010:

  • Exercise is Medicine
  • Food is Medicine
  • Mock Panel to Discuss JNC and ATP Guidelines
  • Minimizing Metabolic Drug Side-Effects
  • The Role of Sleep and Risk Conditions
  • Scientific Abstract Session
  • Use of Health IT in Clinical Preventive Medicine
  • Counseling for Sustainable Health Behavior Change

Dr. Lianov is serving as the track chair.

Supporter of Exercise is Medicine

ACPM has joined the effort to make exercise a foundational component of modern medicine.  It is a network member of the American College of Sports Medicine's coalition initiative, Exercise is Medicine.

For more information, contact David Shih, MD MS, Senior Director for Medical Affairs at dshih@acpm.org.