Definition of Lifestyle Medicine, as adopted by the ELMO Scientific Council
Lifestyle medicine is a branch of medicine which has as goal to maintain optimal health and to prevent, treat and reverse chronic illness across all life stages. The health interventions used in lifestyle medicine include evidence based behavioural strategies, while considering equity and sustainability, to enhance self-management skills for optimizing nutrition, sleep hygiene, stress management, social connection, sexual health and fertility, physical activity and minimizing substance use and environmental exposures.
Pilars of Lifestyle Medicine, as adopted by the ELMO Scientific Council
Lifestyle related diseases include :
- Obesity and Metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes
- Cardiovascular Disease, Stroke, Heart attack, hypertension
- Cancer (esp. some forms of cancer such as colon cancer)
- Neurodegenerative diseases
- Depression
Lifestyle Diseases are the Number 1 cause of Death in Europe
Lifestyle-related diseases (LRDs) are also called Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), chronic diseases or diseases of civilization
Lifestyle Disease: A disease associated with the way a person or group of people lives. A disease that potentially can be prevented by changes in diet, environment, and lifestyle. Lifestyle diseases include atherosclerosis, heart disease, stroke, obesity, type-2-diabetes; and diseases associated with smoking and alcohol and drug abuse.
Misconceptions about lifestyle diseases – and reality Several errors have led to not worry about lifestyle diseases. The idea that they are a distant threat and are less important and serious than some infectious diseases can be dispelled by a body of evidence. Several misconceptions and half-truths are the most common in the report with the stories of people affected by chronic disease.
Fact: Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death Fact: Risk factors are widespread: 1 billion people are overweight Overview Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases or lifestyle-related diseases (LRDs), are not passed from person to person. They are of long duration and generally slow progression. The four main types of noncommunicable diseases are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.
NCDs already disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries where nearly 80% of NCD deaths – 29 million – occur. They are the leading causes of death in all regions except Africa, but current projections indicate that by 2020 the largest increases in NCD deaths will occur in Africa. In African nations deaths from, NCDs are projected to exceed the combined deaths of communicable and nutritional diseases and maternal and perinatal deaths as the most common causes of death by 2030.
Who is at risk of such diseases? All age groups and all regions are affected by NCDs. NCDs are often associated with older age groups, but evidence shows that more than 9 million of all deaths attributed to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) occur before the age of 60. Of these “premature” deaths, 90% occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Children, adults and the elderly are all vulnerable to the risk factors that contribute to noncommunicable diseases, whether from unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, exposure to tobacco smoke or the effects of the harmful use of alcohol.
These diseases are driven by forces that include ageing, rapid unplanned urbanization, and the globalization of unhealthy lifestyles. For example, globalization of unhealthy lifestyles like unhealthy diets may show up in individuals as raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose, elevated blood lipids, overweight and obesity. These are called ‘intermediate risk factors’ which can lead to cardiovascular disease, a NCD.
Tobacco Tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol increase the risk of or cause most NCDs.Tobacco accounts for almost 6 million deaths every year (including over 600 000 deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke), and is projected to increase to 8 million by 2030.
Lifestyle Disease: A disease associated with the way a person or group of people lives. A disease that potentially can be prevented by changes in diet, environment, and lifestyle. Lifestyle diseases include atherosclerosis, heart disease, stroke, obesity, type-2-diabetes; and diseases associated with smoking and alcohol and drug abuse.
Misconceptions about lifestyle diseases – and reality Several errors have led to not worry about lifestyle diseases. The idea that they are a distant threat and are less important and serious than some infectious diseases can be dispelled by a body of evidence. Several misconceptions and half-truths are the most common in the report with the stories of people affected by chronic disease.
Fact: Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death Fact: Risk factors are widespread: 1 billion people are overweight Overview Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases or lifestyle-related diseases (LRDs), are not passed from person to person. They are of long duration and generally slow progression. The four main types of noncommunicable diseases are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes.
NCDs already disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries where nearly 80% of NCD deaths – 29 million – occur. They are the leading causes of death in all regions except Africa, but current projections indicate that by 2020 the largest increases in NCD deaths will occur in Africa. In African nations deaths from, NCDs are projected to exceed the combined deaths of communicable and nutritional diseases and maternal and perinatal deaths as the most common causes of death by 2030.
Who is at risk of such diseases? All age groups and all regions are affected by NCDs. NCDs are often associated with older age groups, but evidence shows that more than 9 million of all deaths attributed to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) occur before the age of 60. Of these “premature” deaths, 90% occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Children, adults and the elderly are all vulnerable to the risk factors that contribute to noncommunicable diseases, whether from unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, exposure to tobacco smoke or the effects of the harmful use of alcohol.
These diseases are driven by forces that include ageing, rapid unplanned urbanization, and the globalization of unhealthy lifestyles. For example, globalization of unhealthy lifestyles like unhealthy diets may show up in individuals as raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose, elevated blood lipids, overweight and obesity. These are called ‘intermediate risk factors’ which can lead to cardiovascular disease, a NCD.
Tobacco Tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol increase the risk of or cause most NCDs.Tobacco accounts for almost 6 million deaths every year (including over 600 000 deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke), and is projected to increase to 8 million by 2030.