Lifestyle Medicine Insider News and Updates – June 2024

Disclaimer: The information included in Insider is intended to give our readers a sense of what is happening in the news, research journals and other channels related to lifestyle medicine. Inclusion does not imply ACLM endorsement. Note that some links may require registration or subscription.

Noteworthy

• ACLM announced its June 10 induction into the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates. Eligibility for this voting seat required a three-year membership in the AMA Specialty and Service Society Caucus, representation of a field of medicine with recognized scientific validity, an AMA membership quota, having physicians comprise the majority of the candidate organization’s membership, and being national in scope. Past-President Cate Collings, MD, FACC, DipABLM, FACLM, will be ACLM’s representative.
• Speaking of the AMA, its President-elect Bobby Mukkamala, MD, is an ACLM member.  AMA Board of Trustees Chair Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, MBA, DipABLM, is a Lifestyle Medicine Certified Physician. AMPAC Board of Directors Chair Brooke Buckley, MD, MBA, FACS, DipABLM, is a member diplomate. Member and diplomate Tiffani Bell Washington, MD, MPH, FAPA, DipABLM, DipABOM, has been elected to serve as the Vice Chair of the Women Physician’s Section.
• Dean Ornish, MD, FACLM, published in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy the first randomized control trial showing that an intensive lifestyle intervention, without drugs, significantly improved cognition and function in patients with early dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Read more here.

Medical Education

• Director of NIH’s Office of Nutrition Research, Andrew Bremer, wrote this editorial in Advances in Nutrition, urging that nutrition be prioritized in medical education.
• The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic has published an updated “Doctoring Our Diet” report on nutrition education for physicians.

Health Equity

• Assessing and monitoring food insecurity and nutrition insecurity is the topic of this article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
• KFF, an independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism has published “Key Data on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity.”

Women’s Health

• The Office of Research on Women’s Health recently released the “NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Research on the Health of Women 2024–2028,” a comprehensive roadmap that will inform NIH-supported research on various diseases and health conditions that affect women.

Men’s Health

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 13.2% of men aged 18 and over are in fair or poor health. Learn more about the state of men’s health during June Men’s Health Month in this CDC resource.

Healthy Aging

• A recent study published in GeroScience revealed some common biomarkers, including levels of cholesterol and glucose, in people who live past 90. The authors say this is the largest study to date comparing biomarker profiles measured throughout life among exceptionally long-lived people and their shorter-lived peers.

Military Health

• Learn how U.S. Air Force medical personnel are integrating lifestyle intervention into practice and transforming their patients’ lives in this article by the Air Force Surgeon General’s Office published in Air Force Medical Service.

Workplace Health Tools

• CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention has announced the release of a suite of tools that make the business case for hypertension control in the workplace, including this infographic.

Human and Planetary Health

• Closely following a planet-friendly diet of mostly fruits, vegetables and whole grains reduces the risk of premature death by nearly one-third in people, while also dramatically cutting the release of greenhouse gases devastating the planet, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
• Ali Saad, MD, DipABLM, was interviewed for a Medscape commentary on why climate neurology matters.

Behavior Change

• A comprehensive look at behavior change is offered in this article by ACLM members Jessica Matthews, DBH, NBC-HWC, DipACLM, FACLM; Simon Matthews, MHlthSc, NBC-HWC, PCC, DipIBLM, FASLM; and Mark Faries, MS, PhD. The article is part of an informative special issue on lifestyle medicine published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes edited by ACLM member Taimur Sher, MBBS, MD.

CHRONIC DISEASE

Obesity

• This study published in Endocrine Practice evaluated the effect of a plant-based diet on weight loss among patients who were overweight or obese. Authors included ACLM members Sandhya Rao Bassin, MD, and Mahima Gulati, MD, DipABLM, FACLM.
• Systematic reviews of medical literature between 2020 to 2024 show bariatric surgery produces the greatest and most sustained weight loss compared to GLP-1 receptor agonists and lifestyle interventions, according to this study presented recently at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Cardiovascular Disease

• This study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition investigated the independent associations of waist-to-height ratio and body fat percentage as risk factors for ischemic cardiovascular disease.
• A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association explored how a healthy lifestyle can help slow biological aging and affect cardiovascular disease risk.

Parkinson’s Disease

• The Michael J. Fox Foundation has published a new guide on diet for those with Parkinson’s disease. Co-author was ACLM member diplomate Rachel Dolhun, MD, DipABLM, who serves as the foundation’s senior vice president, medical communications.
• A pilot study published in Springer Link demonstrated feasibility and multiple areas of efficacy supporting further investigation of community virtual reality tandem cycling as a therapeutic intervention for people with Parkinson’s and their care partners. Member diplomate Jennifer Trilk, PhD, FACSM, DipACLM, was a co-author.

Autism

• A report summarizing a November 10, 2022, meeting hosted by Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute to explore the evidence and evidence gaps in the relationship of food and nutrition with autism spectrum disorder was published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

• • A new study published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases showed intensive lifestyle modifications can be effective in the long term for people with rheumatoid arthritis.

PILLARS

Nutrition

• Last month, the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee held its fifth public meeting. The meeting was livestreamed, and recordings of Day 1 and Day 2 are now available on DietaryGuidelines.gov.
• An eight-week randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of plant-based meats with their corresponding animal-based foods on cardiometabolic health was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
• A new study published in Clinical Nutrition showed a healthy plant-based dietary pattern emphasizing the quality of plant foods was associated with a lower risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in both men and women, although the magnitude of the associations varied across racial and ethnic groups.

Physical Activity

• Is time or step count the more reliable way of assessing beneficial physical activity? See this article published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Avoidance of Risky Substances

• A study presented recently at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session found young to middle-aged women who reported having eight or more alcoholic drinks per week (averaging more than one per day) showed a 45% increased risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to women who drank less than that amount.

Partners in the News

• Minnesota Monthly interviewed Dan Buettner, co-founder of new ACLM partner Blue Zones and Lifestyle Medicine 2024 kickoff keynote.

Members in the News

• Ewaul B. Persaud, Jr., MD, DipABLM, is featured on “DC News Now” in Washington, D.C., about the six pillars of lifestyle medicine.
• Paola Rossi, MD, MSEd, is featured in this University of Miami School of Medicine article on a new Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center program for high-risk cancer patients.
• Colin Zhu, DO, FACLM, DipABLM, Chef, writes in The Good Men Project on lifestyle medicine marking a new era in healthcare.
• Ted Kapanjie, DO, is featured on America Daily Post, speaking on chronic conditions and lifestyle medicine.

Resources

• This policy and practice review article in Frontiers in Medicine offers insights into the distinctions between biomedicine, lifestyle, traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine.

Food for Thought

• A cross-sectional study published in Scientific Reports investigated differences in the plasma metabolome in two groups of adults that were of similar age but varied markedly in body composition and dietary and physical activity patterns.