Lifestyle Medicine Prescriptions for Personal and Planetary Health

Introduction

Climate change and other planetary health disruptions, from biodiversity loss to environmental degradation, threaten the foundation of health and wellbeing [1,2]. This risk is amplified among those with chronic conditions, a large and growing subset of the global population [3]. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report gives the world less than ten years within which humans can still act aggressively to stave off the worst effects of climate change [4]. Never before has there been such an immediate and time-sensitive threat to the health of all humanity.

The increased risk of nutrient loss from crops [1] added to a global nutrition transition to a more energy-dense, processed diet [5], the inability to safely perform physical activity outdoors, limitations on restorative sleep, disruption to social cohesion and connectedness [6], and increased exposures to environmental chemicals [7] are already occurring in the face of an unstable climate [1,8,9]. These challenges to maintaining healthy behaviors have the potential to increase the risk for developing chronic disease [10]. Here, we focus on how Lifestyle Medicine (LM) interventions can help individuals and communities mitigate and adapt to the health risks of climate change. We will also share how the pillars of LM, as defined by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), can be deployed to deliver these interventions in the healthcare and community setting as a prescription for a greener, healthier world. We will end with how these interventions align with strategic initiatives of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM).

The pillars of lifestyle medicine: threats to and prescriptions for planetary health

As a thorough examination of the co-benefits of lifestyle prescriptions to address personal and planetary health has been detailed elsewhere [17], here we briefly outline the six pillars of lifestyle medicine put forth by ACLM and the growing international bodies of lifestyle medicine. We describe how prescriptions for a whole food plant-based diet, increased physical activity, stress management, social connectedness, restorative sleep, and avoidance of toxic substances should be considered “climate-healthy” prescriptions, as they are beneficial for both individual health and planetary health. Initiating healthcare encounters with an LM lens keeps the focus on health-promoting behaviors and prevention of disease. It also limits the reliance on predominantly pharmaceutical interventions and offers health professionals the ability to concentrate on the root causes of chronic medical and mental conditions. A LM treatment approach has the potential to reduce costs, medical waste, and carbon-intensive treatment strategies that center health care delivery in hospitals and large health care centers [17]. Read more here.