Introducing Lifestyle Medicine Fundamentals: Short, self-paced, practical—and free for ACLM members. Learn More + Enroll

Redefining Practice. Accelerating Transformation. Restoring Lives.

2025 marked a record-breaking year for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM).

As the national organization representing the field of lifestyle medicine, ACLM and our members, partners and champions are redefining what it means to practice medicine that’s affordable, approachable and empowering for clinicians and patients alike.

This past year, ACLM strengthened our position as the global authority leading this paradigm shift, by turning evidence into education, education into implementation, and implementation into impact.

Impact at a glance

For the first time in ACLM’s 21-year history, lifestyle medicine has touched nearly every corner of healthcare in some way, expanding our impact at a record-breaking pace.

This year, lifestyle medicine moved fully into the center of clinical transformation, becoming the fastest-growing medical specialty, with the fastest-growing residency curriculum and the fastest-growing board exam across the entire medicine spectrum.

Education

  • 1.4 million hours of CME/CE have been delivered to date 
  • 80,000+ clinicians participants in the Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Essentials course 
  • 10,000+ clinicians are now certified Diplomates, representing 92 countries worldwide

Academia

  • Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC) is the fastest expanding program in the country 
  • 450+ academic programs, in both medical and health professions schools, now include LM curricula
  • Lifestyle Medicine Interest Groups (LMIGs) are established on 200 campuses, including 121 medical schools. 

Members & Stakeholders

  • 15,000+ individual members, working within top healthcare institutions and organizations
  • 750+ institutional, health system, payer and corporate partners demonstrate support of LM-focused clinical solutions
  • Millions of lives & countless communities experiencing restored health 

Behind every number is a story

Clinicians are finding purpose

Dr. Alex Ding, Enterprise Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Humana shares how lifestyle medicine addresses root causes of chronic disease while improving patient outcomes, reducing costs, and advancing health equity.

Listen Now

Students are discovering hope

Discover the remarkable story of of Dr. Charlie Ross, a triple board-certified physician who shares his transition from emergency medicine to lifestyle medicine with ACLM student leaders.

Listen Now

Patients are reclaiming health

Transforming healthcare starts with a shift in how we approach patient care, and Andrew Nance, MD, DipABLM, a family physician dedicated to home-centered healthcare, is leading the way.

Watch Now

Excellence drives impact.

ACLM was honored as a 5X Award-Winning Association this year, with the addition of the ASAE 2025 Gold Circle Award for Conference & Events. Four other national honors recognized our New Member Experience approach and the “Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Essentials” course.

Setting the new standard of care

Lifestyle medicine is quickly becoming an expected competency for clinicians across leading health systems, insurers, employers, and academic institutions.

ACLM is meeting this demand by delivering practical, evidence-based training that supports sustainable behavior change in nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management, and more.

New in 2025:

  • Blue Zones® Certification Course

  • Lifestyle Medicine Fundamentals

  • Lifestyle Empowerment Approach to Diabetes Remission (LEADR) Shared Medical Appointment Program

  • Open-Source Culinary Medicine Curriculum and Program by Dr. Michelle Hauser

  • Lifestyle Medicine Now Series

  • Diabetes Remission Project

  • First-Ever Clinical Practice Guideline on Type 2 Diabetes Remission

  • More Than 20 Additional Clinical Support and Patient-Facing Tools and Resources

Coming in 2026:

  • Expert Consensus on Shared Medical Appointments

  • Expert Consensus on Major Depressive Disorder

  • Clinical Practice Guideline on Obesity

  • Position Statements on GLP-1, Pharmaceuticals, Intensive Therapeutic Lifestyle Change, and Planetary Health

Revisit the Top Media Headlines of 2025

Blog & News

Extending access to all

Through initiatives like the National Training Initiative (NTI) and HEAL Scholarships, ACLM has opened doors for clinicians in underserved communities to access training and certification — ensuring that lifestyle medicine is available to everyone, everywhere. 

ACLM and NACHC formed a partnership to equip FQHC teams with LM education and operational models, which will support the largest healthcare network in the US, caring for 32.5 million community health center patients nationally.  

Read More 

A paradigm shift is underway

Together, these achievements represent more than growth.

This is the inflection point the field has been waiting for, and the time is now to embed the paradigm shift our nation needs. The foundation is built, the data is clear and the conditions have never been more aligned for lifestyle medicine to become the standard of all health and healthcare.

Clinicians are applying it, systems are funding it and patients are benefiting from it every day.

Our next steps are clear

Advance policy and systems-level change  

  • Advance reimbursement, education standards, and quality measures so lifestyle medicine becomes standard care 
  • Expand access to lifestyle medicine care for all people in all places through national partnerships and initiatives like the Rural Health-Transformation Program (RHTP)
  • Ensure all health professional and medical students receive foundational lifestyle medicine education before entering the workforce

Expand integration across healthcare 

  • Embed lifestyle medicine programming across healthcare with measurable clinical, financial, and patient experience outcomes  
  • Make lifestyle medicine training a standard expectation across specialties, professions, and care settings  

Transform workforce and employee health  

  • Enable health systems to offer lifestyle medicine as a benefit for clinicians 
  • Reduce burnout, improve retention, and restore joy in practice 
  • Partner with employers to bring lifestyle medicine to employee populations, improving health and reducing costs 

Scale the evidence base  

  • Lead and support research demonstrating the clinical and economic impact of lifestyle medicine 
  • Bend the curve on type 2 diabetes through expanded research, programming, and dissemination that demonstrates remission is achievable.  
  • Use real-world data and program outcomes to accelerate adoption across healthcare  

Expand awareness and influence  

  • Drive broad awareness within the medical community, among patients and in the broader culture about the power and potential of lifestyle medicine

Invest in the future of medicine

Join the Revolution in Health 

Now is the time to fuel the future and to invest in the systems change approaches that will solidify lifestyle medicine as the foundation of all health and healthcare. 

Let’s come together in 2026 to re-write the narrative of health, ensuring that every clinician, every patient, and every community benefits from the power of lifestyle medicine. 

Donate Today

Thank you to our Community of Impact

To our members, donors, partners, and advocates – your belief and support makes lifestyle medicine unstoppable.   

Transformation – 100,000+
Susan Benigas
Sheila, Dave, and Sherry Gold Foundation​

Catapult – $50,000+
Dr. Stephen T. Turner

Ignite – $10,000+
Dr. Beth Frates
Dr. Padmaja Patel
Dr. Peter Shedden

Catalyze – $5,000+
Cheryl A. Mothes
Mark Smith & Maxine Harris

Spark – $1,500+
Sami Beg
Dr. Andrew Brylowski
Dr. Marsha-Gail Davis
Dr. Wayne Dysinger
Dr. Arnold Gorske
Dr. Meagan Grega
Dr. Claudette Jones Shephard
Dr. Kathleen Johnson Pihl
Dr. Simon Matthews
Dr. Richard Rosenfeld
Barbara A. Slusher
Dr. Kaushal Sondarwa
Dr. Michelle Thompson
Dr. Robyn Tiger
Dr. Cheryl True
Dr. William Wong

$100 – $500
Dr. Bridget Akel
Dr. Clark Thorpe Bishop
Laurie Denise Campbell
Dr. Peter Jon Chandler
Dr. Ginger Fewell
Dr. Thomas P. Harvey
Jessica Jolly
Bhoja R. Katipally
Martin Horacio Koretzky
Dr. Cynthia Kratzke
Heidi Kunzli
Dr. Jeffrey Mark Lehmer
Dr. Marie Leslie Malinchak
Dr. Jeannette McIntyre
Jennifer Molano
Dr. Smruti Nalawadi
Dr. Purvi Parekh
Dr. Bhoja Reddy
Mary Reynolds
Ocean Robbins
Dr. Eunyoung Shim
Dr. David Shin
Jeanette Smith
Dr. Muhammad Wasiulla
Christine Williams
Dr. Malissa Wood

Additional Supporters
Ardmore Institute of Health​
The Herzberg Family Wellness Foundation​
Mayo Clinic Proceedings​
Principled Transformations​
TrueNorth Health Foundation