Robert F. Kushner

Jeffrey I. Mechanick

Lifestyle – the manner in which people live – is fundamental to health, wellness, and prevention of disease. It follows that attention to lifestyle is critically important to effective and successful health care. But here’s the challenge: health care professionals receive very little, if any, formal training about lifestyle counseling and therefore are ill equipped to incorporate lifestyle issues into clinical practice. In response, “Lifestyle Medicine” is evolving as a means to fill this knowledge gap. Lifestyle medicine approaches health and wellness by harnessing the power of lifestyle-related behaviors and influencing the environment we live in. It is a formal approach that promises to enhance and strengthen a re-invigorated health care system that is still outpaced by the epidemic proportions and complexity of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, depression, hypertension, and cancer, among others. Lifestyle Medicine: A Manual for Clinical Practice presents this formal approach in a pragmatic context. This unique and practical manual provides clear and succinct guidance on nearly all aspects of lifestyle medicine. The approach is both explanatory and pragmatic, providing case studies and bulleted translation of academic information into clinical practice recommendations. There is an emphasis on scientific evidence wherever possible as well as opinions by the expert chapter authors who practice lifestyle medicine. There is a “how-to” rationality to the book, consistent with a premise that any and all health care professionals should, and perhaps must, incorporate lifestyle medicine. A valuable checklist is included at the close of the book that summarizes key points and provides a practical tool for routine patient encounters.

A Manual for Clinical Practice

Lifestyle Medicine

Building on the groundbreaking work Lifestyle Medicine (2016), this unique new book bridges the gap between theory and practice by providing detailed information on the real-world development and creation of a Lifestyle Medicine Center, whether independently or as part of an established medical program or department. Part one sets the stage by establishing the rationale for creating a Lifestyle Medicine Center as well as the medical and economic burden it seeks to alleviate. The construction of the physical facility and all of the myriad details of the program and its key players are covered in part two, from the structural to the aesthetic, including informatics, developing patient resources and education tools, current technologies and applications, the role of the dietitian and exercise physiologist, inpatient consultation, the importance of community engagement, and more. Part three is comprised of case studies of existing, successful Lifestyle Medicine Centers across the country, with detailed descriptions of their history, development, programs and challenges. Chapters are supported with plentiful figures, tables and useful links. The burden of chronic disease in the U.S. and globally is growing, with pervasive direct and indirect multi-scale adverse effects on health and well-being, economics, and quality of life. Notwithstanding the remarkable progress in biomedical technology, the role of lifestyle medicine in managing chronic disease in a preventive care model is paramount; however, the relevant and effective education in lifestyle medicine is lacking. Translating the theory into action steps, instantiated by case studies with critical interpretations and problem-solving tools, Creating a Lifestyle Medicine Center is the go-to resource for family and primary care physicians, internal medicine physicians, and all clinical specialties interested in planning and developing a lifestyle medicine program.

Jeffrey I. Mechanick

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