British Society of Lifestyle Medicine: Founding Principles and Current Achievements

Abstract

The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine in the United Kingdom was first established in 2016 partly in response to the ‘sick man of Europe’ tag applied to our nations due to the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Today it is contributing to the growing momentum and growing realisation that a new approach is vital for our Nations’ health.

Background

Chronic diseases account for 85% of deaths in the United Kingdom (World Health Organization [WHO]). The term lifestyle medicine was first used in 1989, so it is no wonder that people question whether it is a fad or a “trend” that is sweeping across the world. The truth, however, is that since 1989 lifestyle medicine has become a global movement; it is the movement of modern science, which has recognized the urgent need to reduce the disease “trends” that have been rising over the past 5 decades. The WHO has estimated that noncommunicable diseases account for 85% of deaths in the United Kingdom, not an insignificant figure. With our National Health Service struggling to keep up with the rising pressures associated with an ever-aging population living with complex chronic diseases, the birth of British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) has been a timely gift to the nation. As leaders in promoting, supporting, and raising awareness across the United Kingdom, it works to encourage communities, health professionals, and importantly the Government to take note of the data and start implementing changes. Lifestyle medicine really is the only way forward.

By 2030, it is predicted that 1 in 5 Britons will be living beyond the age of 65 years, but this cohort can be expected to experience more years of poor health compared with their peers in other countries. We are fortunate to live in a country so culturally diverse, but instead of learning from the various lifestyle habits of our immigrant populations or from our personal experiences of travelling afar to witness other cultural traditions, we have sadly done the opposite. As a nation, we have adopted quick-fix lifestyles favoring poor health for time optimization and productivity. Because of this, diverse diseases such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases have continued to rise.

At BSLM, it is our mission to work with our colleagues in the Global Alliance to fight against the epidemic of noncommunicable diseases by educating and raising awareness, training health care professionals to deliver lifestyle medicine interventions so that we can, together, eliminate the major risk factors for lifestyle-related diseases not just in Britain but worldwide.

History of the Movement/Timeline

The notion of having a BSLM took root after attending the then Australian Life Medicine Association joint conference with the Obesity Societies of Australia and New Zealand in Sydney, Australia in 2014. By the time of the new Australasian Society of LM’s October 2016 conference in Melbourne, Rob Lawson was honored to announce to the world the creation of BSLM as a Scottish Incorporated Charitable Organisation. By April 2017, BSLM had a website launched and was open for membership. The first rather hurried annual “conference” took place in Bristol, England, in June 2017 to a few (75) early enthusiasts. The second conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, in June 2018 was a bigger affair with 250 delegates. Our third conference, only a few weeks ago, was in Cardiff, Wales, and attracted more than 400 delegates over the 2 days, but we are mindful not to lose the family feel about our meetings by running really big and impersonal events. Meanwhile, membership has passed through the 850 mark, with a significant number of student members—the health care professionals to nurture for our future.

United Kingdom
Population		66.5 million	Growth rate	1.1%
Ethnicity	White	87.2%	Black Afro Caribbean	3%
	Indian Asian	2.3%	Pakistani Asian	1.9%
	Mixed	2%	Other	3.6%
Demographic	England	84%	Scotland	8.4%
	Wales	4.8%	Northern Ireland	2.9%
Births per day	2206		Deaths per day	1638
Life expectancy	Males	79.2 years	Females	82.9 years
Unemployment		3.9%

Membership and Structures

BSLM is a registered regulated charity with 11 trustees who take responsibility for the governing of the organization and delivering on its aims and missions per its constitution. Trustees are all from a medical background. As a Society, it is open to all disciplines in the health care arena, but it has grown organically into a physician-led membership (around 80%), of which the majority are family doctors (General Practitioners) and with whom its pragmatic, evidence-based approach resonates most strongly. BSLM has more than 30 volunteer “directors” based regionally around the United Kingdom, some of whom bear special responsibilities according to their particular skill sets. This includes public health, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, secondary care, group consultations, and digital medicine.

Education and Training

Having formed the BSLM Learning Academy, it is in the early stages of working with 4 academic institutions to codesign (1) a Coaching Certificate in Lifestyle Medicine for allied health professionals, (2) an MSc in Lifestyle Medicine and Public Health, (3) maintenance courses for Lifestyle Medicine Certification, and (4) Wellbeing and Lifestyle Medicine at the BSc level.

Furthermore, BSLM has facilitated the development of a National Undergraduate Lifestyle Medicine Society with representation from medical schools around the United Kingdom. Its challenge is to introduce our lifestyle medicine syllabus into curriculae in medical and other health schools. BSLM hosts events around the United Kingdom, with lifestyle medicine themes for health care professionals and the public alike. In an effort to encourage outdoor, green space educational events for our members and families, the first BSLM AdventurEd offering is planned within the next few months. It will include hill walking, water activities, and learning around mental well-being and resilience.

And More

Our second cohort of 120 students will sit the IBLM Certification exam in Edinburgh in August 2019. Already a large number has signed up for the London 2020 exam in June. We have provided 2 very experienced question writers to further internationalize the qualification.

BSLM has embraced the procedure of Group Consultations (also known as Shared Medical Appointments) as an important aspect of spreading the lifestyle medicine message into real practice. Workshops on how to set up and run Group Consultations have been hosted all around the United Kingdom. It is also working with others, including at Government level, to achieve spread within both primary care (1000 GP centers) and secondary care (500 hospital departments) within 3 years. Already about 300 GP centers are routinely utilizing this method of consulting.

In 2018, BSLM launched its #1Change campaign to raise awareness of the need to achieve change at all levels of society: personal, community, and global. This has attracted international attention and involved our sister LM organizations and celebrities too. Within the past month, we have enjoyed patronage from the famous Olympian, Dame Kelly Holmes, who has become our #1Change Ambassador.

Summary

BSLM remains committed to being an open, transparent, and ethically driven organization. It believes that upstream determinants of noncommunicable disease must be acknowledged and acted on if we are to make an impact locally and globally to reduce this disease health burden.

Having recently entered the Anthropocene epoch, the last Holocene epoch having lasted 12 000 years, it seems fitting that lifestyle medicine should come of age and address the human causes of noncommunicable disease by advocating for tackling social inequity, environmental pollution, attention to the built environment, and the wide availability of low-cost, highly processed, low-nutrient food. By helping to create healthy environments, the Lifestyle Medicine movement will achieve the outcomes the world needs by #1Change at a time.