We all desire the benefits of lifestyle medicine: to feel fit, full of energy, and to live a long and healthy life.
But how do we achieve these goals?
We often tend to think that our well-being is determined by factors beyond our control, such as our genes or simply the misfortune of getting sick.
It’s true that these elements play a role, but our lifestyle has a predominant influence on our health and longevity.
Healthy eating is one of the fundamental pillars to stay healthy and live a long and active life. But there are also other factors, equally important, that contribute decisively to our well-being.
To fully understand how our daily choices influence our health and vitality, it’s essential to introduce the concept of Lifestyle Medicine.
What is Lifestyle Medicine
Lifestyle Medicine is the branch of medicine that focuses on the prevention and treatment of diseases through the adoption of a healthy lifestyle.
In practice, it studies how our habits influence well-being and provides tools to improve them.
Lifestyle Medicine is a therapeutic approach that allows us to prevent, treat, and promote the regression of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and more. [1]
Lifestyle Medicine does not replace medications, but it complements them for a more comprehensive and holistic approach to health.
The Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has identified 6 pillars upon which our health rests. [2]
Adopting these behaviors synergistically can help prevent and treat many chronic diseases, improving the length and quality of our lives.
- Nutrition: Favor whole, mainly plant-based foods, rich in fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants.
- Physical Activity: Engage in regular physical activity for at least 150 minutes per week. Preferably 30 minutes a day of moderate to intense physical activity. [3]
- Restorative Sleep: Ensure 7-9 hours of restful sleep for optimal physical and mental well-being. [4]
- Stress Management: Adopt stress reduction techniques to counteract the negative effects of chronic stress.
- Social Connection: Cultivate positive relationships for emotional, mental, and physical well-being.
- Avoidance Of Risky Substances: Reduce or eliminate the use or exposure to substances that cause harm to health, such as smoking and alcohol.
Emerging Factors
Lifestyle Medicine is a continuously evolving field. In addition to the fundamental pillars, further areas of focus are emerging: [3][5]
- Having a Purpose / Sense of Meaning in Life: Having a purpose in life is strongly associated with lower mortality. [6]
- Keeping an Active Mind: Keeping the brain active with stimulating activities reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. [7][8]
- Occasional Fasting: Occasional fasting (for more than 16 hours but less than 36) can provide benefits such as controlling blood sugar, improving insulin sensitivity, and reducing inflammation. [9]
These factors, together with the 6 fundamental pillars, can significantly contribute to the benefits of Lifestyle Medicine, as demonstrated by numerous scientific studies.
Adding Years to Life with Lifestyle Medicine
Numerous studies have provided solid scientific evidence on the effectiveness of Lifestyle Medicine.
An important example is represented by the extensive observational studies conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to determine the impact of lifestyle on health and life expectancy.
The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) have followed a huge number of participants from 1976 to today, collecting data on the habits of over 275,000 people.
These studies observed the impact of five key factors on health: having a healthy diet, engaging in regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy body weight, not smoking, and consuming alcohol in moderation.
The results of these studies highlight that those who follow all five of these factors in their lifestyle live up to 14 years longer than those who do not incorporate any of them. [5]
Adding Life to Years with Lifestyle Medicine
Living long is important, but living well is even more so. The good news is that a healthy lifestyle can not only lengthen life but also improve its quality.
Data from the Harvard studies show that people who followed four or five of the key factors at age 50 then lived an additional 34 years (women) and 31 years (men) without chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, compared to 24 years for those who followed none. [5]
Confirming these results, another large-scale study, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Study (EPIC), further highlighted the positive impact of a healthy lifestyle.
Published in the Archives of Internal Medicine journal, this study collected data from over 23,000 adults on their behaviors and the impact of 4 key factors: having a healthy diet, engaging in regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy body weight, and not smoking.
The results of the EPIC study found that among people who followed these four key factors, 93% of diabetes cases, 81% of heart attacks, 50% of strokes, and 36% of cancer cases were prevented. [10]
A clarification on body weight: the studies cited consider a healthy weight with a BMI (body mass index) below 30. But in our approach, we consider overweight and obesity as conditions that we can address with the pillars of Lifestyle Medicine.
Lifestyle Medicine in Brief
Adopting a healthy lifestyle through the 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine is a powerful approach that can make us live longer and healthier.
Focusing on balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, stress management, quality sleep, positive social connections, and avoiding harmful substances not only contributes to longevity but also plays a vital role in the prevention and management of many diseases at any age.
Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is one of the main leaders for the two Harvard studies mentioned above.
Dr. Willett provides a very clear summary of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle:
Eating well – teamed with keeping your weight in the healthy range, exercising regularly, and not smoking – can prevent 80 percent of heart attacks, 90 percent of type 2 diabetes, and 70 percent of colorectal cancer. It can also help you avoid stroke, osteoporosis, constipation and other digestive woes, cataracts, and aging-related memory loss or dementia. And the benefits aren’t just for the future. A healthy diet can give you more energy and help you feel good today.
– From the book “Eat Drink, and Be Healthy – The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating”, by Walter C. Willet, MD, DrPH, with Patrick J. Skerrett, Co-Developed with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The Lifestyle Medicine Infographic
Do you want to live better and longer?
Download the Lifestyle Medicine infographic to keep a practical and useful reminder of the fundamental and emerging pillars always at hand.
Click on the image to download the infographic.
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Read in Italian: Lifestyle Medicine: vivi meglio, più a lungo
References
[1] Lifestyle Medicine | Wikipedia
[2] American College of Lifestyle Medicine
[3] Healthy lifestyle: 5 keys to a longer life | Harvard Health Publishing
[4] Sleep | The Nutrition Source – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
[5] Healthy Longevity | The Nutrition Source – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
[6] Alimujiang A, Wiensch A, Boss J, et al. Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among US Adults Older Than 50 Years. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(5):e194270. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.4270
[7] Kivipelto, M., Mangialasche, F. & Ngandu, T. Lifestyle interventions to prevent cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer disease. Nat Rev Neurol 14, 653–666 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0070-3
[8] Lisko I, Kulmala J, Annetorp M, Ngandu T, Mangialasche F, Kivipelto M (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki; Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, Seinäjoki, Finland; Karolinska University Hospital, Theme Aging, Stockholm; Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; University of Eastern Finland, Helsinki, Finland; Imperial College London, London, UK). How can dementia and disability be prevented in older adults: where are we today and where are we going? (Review). J. Intern. Med 2021; 289: 807–830.
[9] Benefits of Fasting (Intermittent & Occasional): Full Guide | fabdelta.com
[10] Ford ES, Bergmann MM, Kröger J, Schienkiewitz A, Weikert C, Boeing H. Healthy living is the best revenge: findings from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam study. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Aug 10;169(15):1355-62. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.237. PMID: 19667296.
