What is the role of a lifestyle medicine physician
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses lifestyle modifications as diet, exercise, sleep, mental wellbeing, healthy social connections and cessation of harmful substances (called the six pillars of a healthy lifestyle) as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
Lifestyle medicine certified doctors or physicians are trained to apply evidence based whole-person, lifestyle changes to treat and often reverse such conditions.
Lifestyle medicine can address up to 80% of chronic diseases. The whole world is facing a tsunami of lifestyle related diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity etc. The only way forward is to treat the root cause of these chronic diseases rather than treating just the symptoms.
Most of the times modern medicines do a wonderful job of keeping the symptoms of chronic diseases like hypertension, type 2 diabetes, PCOS etc in check. They do not work on the root cause.90% of the times the root cause of chronic diseases is wrong lifestyle and hence, only lifestyle modifications can address the root cause.
Lifestyle medicine doctor looks at the whole person health and prescribes lifestyle modifications that help a person become healthier, disease free (by working on the root cause of disease) and self-reliant ,rather than being dependent on medicines for health.
By getting into the details of a person’s lifestyle, health promoting behavioural modifications are introduced in a step wise manner and the person becomes healthier and more in charge of one’s health.
This is done by focusing on all the six pillars of health and hand holding a person in their journey of health and well-being. Various interventions include prescribing whole food plant rich diets, introducing exercise that fits into a person’s schedule, introducing stress management strategies, focussing on connection with self (and others) and helping a person prioritize sleep.
Being healthier and self-reliant also amounts to reduced health care costs and increased productivity. In a nut shell, Lifestyle Medicine Physician helps you become your healthiest version!
