[Skip to Navigation]
Sign In
Commentary
July 14, 2010

Physician Competencies for Prescribing Lifestyle Medicine

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliations: American College of Preventive Medicine, Washington, DC (Drs Lianov and Johnson); Jefferson County Public Health, Golden, Colorado (Dr Johnson); and Berkeley HeartLab and Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis (Dr Lianov).

JAMA. 2010;304(2):202-203. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.903

The leading causes of death for adults in the United States are related to lifestyle—tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol consumption.1 US residents with these risk factors have plenty of room for improvement—including those who are asymptomatic and those living with chronic disease. Health behaviors could greatly influence future health and well-being, especially among patients with chronic disease. However, only 11% of patients with diabetes follow accepted dietary recommendations for saturated fat intake,2 and 18% of patients with heart disease continue to smoke, barely better than the general population's smoking rate.3

Add or change institution
×