Abstract
‘But the new research coming to light revealed that sufficiently intensive lifestyle changes could not only prevent disease but also reverse it.’
2019 marked the 15th anniversary of the founding of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM). The history of the College is one that speaks to vision, courage, dedication, and perseverance, holding steadfast to the science that serves as the foundation of the field.
The vision was first cast by John Kelly, who from 1996 to 2004 was a courageous physician-in-training. He was impressed by the number of rigorous scientific studies published that showed the efficacy of intensive lifestyle interventions in treating and reversing disease. Physicians had long known that lifestyle habits were risk factors for chronic disease and had sought to educate the public about the need to make better choices in diet, physical activity, and so on to prevent disease. But the new research coming to light revealed that sufficiently intensive lifestyle changes could not only prevent disease but also reverse it.1-8
Kelly saw that the published evidence and observation of successful lifestyle treatment programs indicated that a different skill set was required to successfully change lifestyle behaviors. It was evident that what was beginning to be referred to as “Lifestyle Medicine” was not simply prevention—it was, in fact, clinical treatment.
Recognizing that treating root causes of disease through evidence-based lifestyle behavior change was not represented by any field of medicine, Kelly concluded that this gaping void needed to be filled with a dedicated medical professional society—one that would represent disease treatment and reversal through therapeutic lifestyle intervention.
A founding committee was formed, and the first official in-person meeting took place on December 3, 2003. Bylaws were drawn in February 2004. The first General Meeting of the ACLM was held on March 9, 2004. The organization’s first elected directors were installed: Lee Berk, Wayne Dysinger, Franklin House, Jim Peters, Doug Plata, and Wes Youngberg. Officers included Secretary-Treasurer Ed Fujimoto, Vice-President Neil Nedley, and John Kelly elected as the founding president.
In his address to the group, President Kelly stressed 3 key points (which remain true today):
“We cannot continue doing what we’ve been doing in medicine because we are failing miserably.
Medicine must take an evidence-based approach to the practice of lifestyle medicine, and we little comprehend what the ramifications of doing this will be.
We must understand when lifestyle-based prevention must be separated from treatment, and when they can be coupled.”
Kelly served as president until 2008, succeeded by Marc Braman, MD, MPH, FACLM (2008-2009); Wayne Dysinger, MD, MPH, FACLM (2009-2012); Liana Lianov, MD, MPH, FACLM (2012-2014); David Katz, MD, MPH, FACLM (2014-2016); and George Guthrie, MD, MPH, FACLM (2016-2018). Dexter Shurney, MD, MPH, FACLM, became president in October 2018, with Cate Collings, MD, FACC, president-elect, set to assume the presidency in November 2020, which will usher in the first cardiologist ever to serve at ACLM’s helm.
ACLM began as a volunteer-led medical professional society and remained as such for many years. Initially, membership included both physician members and non-physician doctoral-level clinical professionals. Over the years, ACLM’s membership has expanded, now including allied health professionals, health care executives, health coaches, medical students and trainees, as well as those in professions dedicated to advancing the field of lifestyle medicine.
There have been challenging years along the way, although tenacity and perseverance of ACLM’s foresighted leaders prevailed: They navigated through the tumultuous times, believing that the field that ACLM represented was worthy of the investment of time, talent, and treasure required to ensure that the vision of ACLM would come to fruition—where treating root causes of disease would become the default first treatment option across the United States and around the world.
Today, ACLM’s membership is nearing 4000 strong, having grown more than 600% in the past six years. With exceptional leadership provided by ACLM’s Board of Directors, working in collaboration with a staff of 20+ who manage not only the main operations of the College but also the special projects that operate as extensions, ACLM is positioned for exponential growth and impact.
Significant milestones since ACLM’s 2004 inception:
Following Founding President John Kelly, MD, MPH as ACLM’s second president was Marc Braman, MD, MPH, who transitioned to the role of
Wayne Dysinger, MD, MPH became the organization’s third president, during which time the seminal article,
The
Wayne Dysinger, then ACLM’s immediate past-president, recruited
In 2016, the
The
The
The
The
To support the emerging network of lifestyle medicine medical professional associations around the globe, the
The
The
The
Drs John Kelly and Jeni Shull co-authored the
In early 2017, ACLM’s redetermination from
The Liana Lianov Fund for Happiness Medicine was established in 2017, resulting in the inaugural
Through generous support of the Lifestyle Medicine Institute, the
Downloaded more than 2000 times by educators in more than 80 countries, the
Through Greenbaum Foundation support, the
ACLM’s partnership with Wellcoaches, a CRT founding member, resulted in the
Made possible by Ardmore Institute of Health grant funding, the
During George Guthrie’s presidency,
Accepting Dr Guthrie’s invitation to develop a new methodology and system for evaluating lifestyle medicine-related evidence, immediate past-president David Katz agreed to chair the task force that conducted a systematic review resulting in a white paper:
In accepting the gavel as ACLM’s president in the fall of 2018,
2019 marked the launch of ACLM’s
The inaugural
Recognizing excellence in epidemiological research, Finnish physician,
As a resource for those responsible for worksite well-being, the
The
Building on the LM Course Syllabus, a
2019 marked the launch of the
The application process for
Anticipated for early this year is the rollout of the new
ACLM has produced its own conference each year since 2011. Host cities have included Portland, OR; Denver, CO (2012); Washington, DC (2013); San Diego, CA (2014); Nashville, TN (2015); Naples, FL (2016); Tucson, AZ (2017); Indianapolis, IN (2018); Orlando, FL (2019); with November 1-4 already set for Carlsbad, CA, in 2020. Attendance has grown at a rapid rate—from 50 in 2011, to more than 1500 in 2019. This is testament to the rising tide of interest in the field.
With 80% or more of all health care dollars tied to the treatment of conditions rooted in poor lifestyle choices, the time is now for Lifestyle Medicine to become the foundation of a transformed and sustainable system of health care delivery. Identifying and eradicating the root cause of a disease as a first treatment option is vital. Patients have a right to know that a lifestyle medicine option exists, as opposed to accepting as inevitable that their only option is to become chronically ill and dependent on prescription medication to manage disease for a lifetime—an approach that is too often a disservice to both patient and provider.
We pause to reflect on the vision, perseverance, passion, and tenacity of those who have championed the field that many now consider to be the fastest growing in medicine.
Learn more at www.LifestyleMedicine.org. For information about the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance, visit www.LifestyleMedicineGlobal.org. Details about the Lifestyle Medicine Economic Research Consortium can be found at www.LMEconomicResearch.org. For information about ACLM’s annual conference, visit www.LMConference.org. Lifestyle Medicine expert speakers can be located through www.LMSpeakers.org.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Ethical Approval
Not applicable, because this article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.
Informed Consent
Not applicable, because this article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.
Trial Registration
Not applicable, because this article does not contain any clinical trials.
Mission and Vision,Then and Now
ACLM’s original mission and vision statements were the following:
During a February 2018 meeting held in St. Louis, MO, ACLM staff and its Board of Directors developed a strategic plan and revised mission and vision statements: