I am a GP and certified lifestyle medicine physician. When I started working as a doctor in the early 90s, we would often diagnose chronic diseases such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes after a patient had been admitted to hospital with a heart attack or stroke. 

Medicine has changed a great deal since then. In the mid 90s, we began to practise evidence based medicine. We learned to screen for chronic diseases that were risk factors for cardiovascular events. Our aim was to improve morbidity and mortality, armed with the knowledge that this was possible.

Over the years there have been great advances in the management of chronic diseases. However the global burden is huge and growing year on year. Health services all over the world are under enormous strain.

At the same time, the people I see in my day to day practice have become increasingly interested in a lifestyle approach to health. When discussing illness or chronic disease with patients, I am often asked, “What can I do myself that might help?”

My aim is to share the benefits of a lifestyle approach to health - simple changes people can make in their daily lives to reduce the risk or impact of illness and chronic disease.

If you would like to find out more about the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, click on the picture of the relevant pillar. Learn about how we can make little lifestyle changes to help improve our physical and mental wellbeing with the aim of living healthier lives for longer.