The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine has revealed details of its fifth annual conference aimed at improving health and wellbeing and tackling chronic disease.
BSLM2021 takes place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre from September 2-4 and brings together leading experts from healthcare and medicine, academia, public health and scientific research.
Confirmed speakers include …
The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine was founded in 2016 by Edinburgh-based GP Dr Rob Lawson, surgeon Laurence Stewart and Sheffield GP Dr Michael Boyle.
The society now has more than 1,500 members, mostly GPs and other clinicians, who are committed to using evidence-based lifestyle medicine to tackle chronic disease.
Its annual conference – billed as a celebration of the “art and science of a healthy lifespan” – focuses on the core “pillars” of lifestyle medicine including physical activity, nutrition, sleep, stress reduction and mental health, harmful substance reduction or cessation and healthy relationships.
The conference programme will also examine the impact of Covid-19 on those with chronic underlying health conditions as well as other factors impacting on human health – including social determinants such as poverty and inequality and also environmental issues including climate change and pollution.
The potential of group consultations – and virtual group consultations during the pandemic – to support patients with chronic conditions will also be explored.
Dr Rob Lawson, British Society of Lifestyle Medicine Chairman, said: “Our society was founded to promote the use of lifestyle medicine to tackle the growing problem of chronic, non-communicable disease. We’re now looking forward to celebrating our fifth birthday with a conference which will be bigger and better than ever.
In the midst of a global communicable disease pandemic, clinicians and policymakers are becoming even more aware of the potential of lifestyle medicine to improve human health. Those with chronic conditions have been at greatest risk from the virus and the crisis has thrown into sharp relief the underlying health problems we face.
Lifestyle medicine offers us hope that we can enjoy better health and be more resilient in the face of viruses like Covid-19.
“Our conference will also be an opportunity to bring together BSLM members including clinicians and allied health professionals who have been working on the frontline during the pandemic. We also look forward to welcoming patients to our conference to discuss what lifestyle medicine means for them. I hope all of us can come together to reflect on the experiences of the last year and what it means for lifestyle medicine.”
For full details on the conference visit: bslm.org.uk/events/bslm-2021-conference
