Lifestyle Medicine for Personal and Planetary Health: A Position Statement From the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
TL;DR
It is the position of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine that urgent and coordinated action is required to address the accelerating health impacts of the converging chronic disease and triple planetary crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and environmental pollution.
Abstract
Built on six core pillars (whole-food, plant-predominant nutrition; physical activity; restorative sleep; stress management; connectedness; and avoidance of toxic substances), lifestyle medicine (LM) addresses root causes of disease to improve population health through evidence-based therapeutic lifestyle interventions. Growing evidence demonstrates that human health and optimal access to these pillars depend on stable planetary systems that provide clean air, water, nutritious food, and the environmental conditions necessary for human well-being. It is the position of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) that: (1) urgent and coordinated action is required to address the accelerating health impacts of the converging chronic disease and triple planetary crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and environmental pollution; (2) lifestyle interventions offer reciprocal benefits for individual, community, and planetary well-being; (3) integrating LM into healthcare delivery promotes health, strengthens personal and community resilience, and may reduce the environmental footprint of the healthcare sector; and (4) integrating LM principles into health professional education, clinical care, public health initiatives, and policy frameworks is a critical strategy for advancing equitable, high-quality, and environmentally sustainable healthcare that safeguards both population and planetary health.