As part of a broader strategy to close the education gap, ACLM offered the free 5.5-hour CME/CE program”Lifestyle medicine and diet as essential elements of medicine” online courses through its commitment to train 200,000 clinicians in lifestyle and food as medicine in support of the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. from December 153,035 clinicians registered for the course.
Those who participated in the course could choose to participate in a research study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the course. The study involved completing a survey at the beginning and end of the course assessing knowledge, confidence, attitudes and practice of lifestyle medicine. Among 2,954 participant surveys analyzed, statistically significant improvements were observed in knowledge and confidence in lifestyle medicine, according to results published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. Participants also reported practicing lifestyle medicine with their patients more frequently and reaching more patients with lifestyle medicine services.
Lifestyle medicine clinicians are trained to apply prescriptive, evidence-based, whole-person lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine – a whole-food, predominantly plant-based diet, physical activity, restful sleep, stress management, positive social connections and avoidance of risky substances – allows also effective prevention of these conditions.
“Insufficient knowledge, skills and confidence to practice lifestyle medicine and behavioral counseling are among the greatest barriers to solving the chronic disease crisis, the root cause of which is primarily lifestyle-related behavior. life,” said ACLM’s senior director of research. Micaela KarlsenPhD, MSPH.. “The study results are encouraging because they demonstrate a real-world effect of a CME-accredited educational course that is cost-effective, delivered virtually, and, therefore, highly scalable. Future research should investigate the effects on the long-term practice changes and health outcomes.
Register here for the ACLM Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Essentials course.
About ACLM®
As a catalyst for transformation, disruptor of the status quo, and galvanized force for change, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine is the nation’s medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as a foundation of a redesigned health system, based on values and equitable. health care delivery system, essential to the achievement of the Quintuple Aim and the overall health of the person. ACLM represents, advocates, trains, certifies and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. The ACLM fills the gaping void of lifestyle medicine – including diet as medicine – in medical education across the medical education continuum, while making advance research, clinical practice and reimbursement strategies. Adding years to life and life to years, while controlling the alarming and unsustainable trajectory of health care costs, is what lifestyle medicine offers.
Media contact
Alex Branchdirector of communications, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 9719835383, (email protected)American College of Lifestyle Medicine
SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine
