The Research Department at ACLM works to advance knowledge in the field of lifestyle medicine. Our areas of focus include:
- Primary research on health outcomes following lifestyle medicine interventions, particularly in the context of disease treatment and reversal
- Creation of guidance documents to support clinical practice and elevate the rigor and excellence of the field
- Development of tools and assessments to aid in clinical practice and research
- Evidence reviews and consumer-facing resources to support translation and dissemination
Call for Special Issue on “Food as Medicine” Submissions: Frontiers in Nutrition
CURRENT PROJECTS
Development of a whole food, plant-based dietary adherence questionnaire
The aim of this project is to develop and test tools to assess adherence to a whole food, plant-based diet. Two tools are being developed: (1) a brief screener capturing frequency of intake for 22 different food/beverage groups and (2) a longer questionnaire capturing servings/day for a wider range of food groups.
Clinical practice guideline development
Creation of CPGs utilizes a systematic process to develop statements to assist clinicians in delivering lifestyle medicine to patients. ACLM is currently engaged in planning discussions to select a specific methodology and identify initial topic areas for our first CPG.
Lifestyle medicine in health systems; a case series on facilitators and barriers to implementation
Despite challenges often encountered around implementing LM, a number of hospital or health systems have successfully integrated LM into their models of healthcare in various capacities, some even growing robust programs with many patients. This project aims to determine factors associated with the implementation and growth of LM practices, challenges experienced, and lessons learned.
Evaluation of the Reach and Utilization of the Culinary Medicine Curriculum from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine
Culinary medicine is an evidence-based field that brings together nutrition and culinary knowledge and skills to assist patients in maintaining health by choosing high-quality, healthy food in conjunction with appropriate medical care. Since 2019, ACLM has offered a Culinary Medicine Curriculum via complimentary download. This project utilizes a cross-sectional survey of individuals who have utilized the curriculum to identify if and how the curriculum has been modified for use and better understand the challenges and needs of those using the curriculum.
Evaluation of knowledge, self-efficacy, and behaviors following lifestyle medicine training at US-based health systems
Certain U.S. health systems are implementing ground-breaking programs to offer lifestyle medicine training for employees. The aim of this study is to conduct pre- and post-surveys among enrolled clinicians at these participating health systems to characterize clinician demographics and assess health behaviors and LM knowledge, self-efficacy, and practice of LM before and after training.
Curriculum development of the Lifestyle Empowerment Approach for Diabetes Remission (LEADR) program
The Lifestyle Empowerment Approach for Diabetes Remission (LEADR) Program is a medical nutrition intervention to facilitate improved glucose control with the eventual goal of disease remission, among people with type 2 diabetes. A central component of the program is the intervention curriculum which provides participants, facilitators (clinicians running group programs), and coordinators (support staff handling logistics) with materials and demonstrations to promote healthier shopping, cooking, and eating, as well as maximizing use of available resources, to improve dietary habits among participants and their families. Development of curriculum materials are now in progress and nearing completion.
Feasibility and Safety of Medication De-escalation in Type 2 Diabetes Patients Following Lifestyle Medicine Interventions
The objective of this study is to characterize the protocols and decision-making processes around practitioner decisions to deprescribe medications following treatment with lifestyle medicine. We are conducting a retrospective chart review to describe de-escalation protocols of three LM practitioners and conduct a safety review for adverse events among patients whose glucose-lowering medications were de-escalated.
Support Lifestyle Medicine Research and the ACLM mission.
This 22-article series of reviews and practice briefs introducing the field and implementation of lifestyle medicine to family medicine physicians describes the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, its evidence-based use in chronic disease treatment, its clinical practice implementation and its future as today’s fastest-growing medical specialty. The publication sponsored by ACLM was edited and peer-reviewed by the Journal of Family Practice.
Click the Magazine Cover and you will be directed to ACLM Connect where you can download individual article OR the publication in full.