Lifestyle Medicine: Essentials for Lifestyle Medicine Interventions

Diet and lifestyle interventions are recommended as first-line therapy for many chronic diseases such as diabetes, but too often these interventions fail to make it into the daily practice of PAs. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine has compiled evidence for improving chronic disease by addressing the six pillars of lifestyle medicine: nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep, social connections, and avoidance of risky substance use. When PAs help patients optimize these areas of their life, we can achieve significant health benefits for our patients in primary care and other settings. At the same time, we can increase our own job satisfaction and reduce burnout. The key to achieving the best results is effectively utilizing available tools, resources, and patient counseling techniques.