Lifestyle medicine: The origin of a new medical specialty

Medicina de estilo de vida: El origen de una nueva especialidad médica

Abstract

Medicine evolves by leaps and bounds and also make the most necessary specialties. A recently published article refers to the 5 new specialties in the USA. UU.: Immunooncology, Lifestyle Medicine, Nocturnists, Clinical Informatics and Virtualist Medicine. The current and future demand for these new specialties is increasing.

Why Lifestyle Medicine has come to stay as an attractive new specialty of the present and the future?

 About 80% of health care costs are related to chronic diseases, and 80% of chronic diseases are related to lifestyle choices. This is a powerful argument for specialists in lifestyle medicine.

The choice of a patient's food and diet, exercise, sleep, stress levels and the ability to relate to others are under the reach of a medical specialist in lifestyle medicine.

Lifestyle Medicine deals with all aspects of a person's life.
Primary care and family medicine are natural places for life style medicine experts, but it also plays a fundamental role in lifestyle medicine clinics where patients require intensive approaches, when the need is urgent.

The American Board of Lifestyle Medicine began offering certification in lifestyle medicine in October 2017, in Tucson, Arizona. The International Board of Lifestyle Medicine together with the regional
organizations are in charge of the certification in the 5 continents.

In Peru and in Latin America, the Latin American Lifestyle Medicine Association has been working to promote and
develop lifestyle medicine as a fundamental pillar in everyday medical practice. In this environment, lifestyle medicine is born, a new concept of treating the person in a holistic way, not just the pathology he or she consults.

DOI 10.25176/RFMH.v18.n4.1724