Lifestyle medicine and public health

Hippocrates once said, “the greatest medicine of all is to teach people how not to need it” When I started out my career as a doctor 10 years ago, I wanted everyone to know how to be healthy. I undertook a double Masters degree in Public Health with subspecialisation in health service delivery and disease prevention, which helped me help my patients take control of their health. A few years ago, my heart cartwheeled with happiness when I discovered lifestyle medicine as a field of medicine that I could specialise in. It allows me to delve deeper and learn more about the latest evidence in treating chronic diseases and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The more time went by and the more I learnt, the more I felt I needed to learn and do to help make a change. Public health starts with policy and ends with the individual and so must be addressed at both levels and everywhere in between. I became more involved in community engagement, academia and leadership. I run the Walk With a Doc initiative to deliver brief talks about health and walk with patients in Birmingham, I undertake primary care research at Warwick University and I have been involved in some leadership roles, the latest as a Co-Option for the Birmingham Local Medical Committee. My lifestyle medicine and public health expertise allow me to give my patients the best chance of leading disease-free, happy lives and I am honoured to share their journeys to better health.

I greatly admire Nutritank’s work for many reasons. The first is they are giving medical students and healthcare professionals the opportunity to learn more about nutrition and lifestyle medicine. Secondly, they offer a fantastic platform for networking. Thirdly, they are creating innovative educational resources to help medical students and healthcare professionals empower their patients. Finally, they are actively engaging with many generations of professionals and the public via their excellent presence on social media.

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