Lifestyle Medicine 2024: What to Look Forward To

Are you searching for healthcare innovations that actually help you and your patients? Do you want to learn more about the evidence-based consensus in nutrition? Are you intrigued by the connection between lifestyle medicine and health equity or longevity? Do you need CME? 
If you said yes to any or all of these questions , you should consider registering for Lifestyle Medicine 2024, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) annual conference, being held October 27-30 in Orlando, Florida. With a growing membership of 13,000 members, ACLM will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. While in-person attendance is almost sold out, virtual registration is available throughout October.
Conference chair Meagan Grega, MD, said the conference topics will highlight the tremendous advancement of lifestyle medicine since ACLM’s creation and present the latest research and innovative implementation models from leading experts.
“Lifestyle medicine is changing the paradigm of healthcare to restore health for individuals living with chronic disease,” Grega said. “This year’s conference will cover a wide range of topics and sessions that will provide clinicians the tools and practical insights they need to successfully integrate lifestyle medicine into their practices.”
In May, ACLM and Blue Zones announced a new clinician certification status coming in 2025 called “Blue Zones–Certified Physician” or “Blue Zones–Certified Health Professional,” which will be available exclusively for clinicians who first become certified in lifestyle medicine. Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner and Blue Zones CEO Ben Leedle will give the opening keynote address about the convergence between Blue Zones and evidence-based lifestyle medicine, and its potential to transform primary care. 
The movement to incorporate food as medicine into healthcare has gained widespread momentum, and for years, lifestyle medicine clinicians have been educated to make lifestyle behavior interventions in nutrition. Christopher Gardner, PhD, and Michelle Hauser, MD, both of Stanford University, will provide examples of evidence-based nutrition studies and translate the science into practical dietary changes that patients find healthful and delicious. 
In related sessions, chef Michel Nischan, founder and CEO of Wholesome Wave, will explore the successes and challenges of scaling food-as-medicine initiatives, while leaders from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona present the clinical and financial outcomes of food-as-medicine programs offered by the health plan for individuals with type 2 diabetes. 
Ever wonder what keeps people healthy and happy throughout their lifespan? Robert Waldinger, MD, part-time professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, discusses the Harvard Study of Adult Development, an ongoing 85-year longitudinal study, and what it reveals about what truly helps people thrive at a time when wealth and fame are glorified as success. 
Individuals living in minority and rural communities are disproportionally impacted by lifestyle-related chronic diseases. Clinicians experienced at delivering lifestyle medicine in underresourced communities will share their experiences and how ACLM is addressing lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities by supporting a diverse lifestyle medicine–trained workforce. Another session, “Equitable Access to Lifestyle Medicine: FQHCs, YMCAs, Trauma-Informed Health Coaching, and Community Medicine,” will highlight how lifestyle medicine clinicians can partner with community-based organizations that address social needs, as well as the critical role of the nations’ 1400 Federally Qualified Health Centers in delivering lifestyle medicine services. 
Ayesha Z. Sherzai, MD, and Dean Sherzai, MD, will host an interactive keynote session exploring how eating patterns, physical activity, stress, sleep, cognitive engagement, and vascular risk factors contribute to brain health. They’ll discuss how comprehensive lifestyle behavior changes can promote cognitive longevity and significantly reduce the risk for neurodegenerative disease.
Lifestyle counseling is a first-line treatment recommendation in many clinical practice guidelines, but we know that most counseling often doesn’t yield measurable clinical outcomes. Hear from the experts developing ACLM’s first clinical practice guideline, “Lifestyle Interventions for Treatment and Remission of Type 2 Diabetes and Prediabetes in Adults,” and how to apply its key action statements in primary care and endocrinology. 
The conference will feature more than 200 original research abstracts. Virtual attendees can view the research presentations and contact the authors with questions or comments through the conference app. 
Searching for healthcare innovations that actually help you and your patients? Register as a virtual attendee for Lifestyle Medicine 2024. Visit the conference website and click “register now.”