Darren writes for GPs

Paper recognises lifestyle medicine’s vital role in healthcare

An academic journal has published a paper co-authored by one of our researchers in a supplement introducing lifestyle medicine practices to family physicians.

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine invited Associate Professor Darren Morton and colleague Dr Kaylan Baban from George Washington University to write about how alleviating stress can help prevent, manage and treat chronic diseases.

The paper provides GPs with a “tool kit” of evidence-based strategies, such as: eating more servings of whole, plant-rich foods; exercising for 30 minutes a day; sleeping between seven to nine hours a night; maintaining social connection; spending more time in nature, and; using mind–body practices like prayer. It suggests patients may experience a compounding benefit if introduced to a variety of these interventions.

“Lifestyle Medicine and Stress Management” is one of 22 reviews and practice briefs in A Family Physician’s Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine, published as a supplement to the January/February 2022 issue of The Journal of Family Practice.

The supplement introduces the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, demonstrates its evidence-based treatment of chronic disease, describes how to incorporate it into clinical practice, and examines its future as a medical speciality. With more than 100,000 readers, publication of the supplement in the journal is “another sign traditional medicine is beginning to recognise lifestyle medicine as an integral part of healthcare,” says Darren, director of our Lifestyle Medicine and Health Research Centre.

Darren’s invitation to write for the supplement came from an exisiting connection with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, which has certified and endorsed his The Lift Project. This “educational adventure” introduces scientifically-proven strategies from the fields of neuroscience, positive psychology and lifestyle medicine that “help lift your mood and your life.” It is the program behind our core Foundations of Wellbeing unit.