Experts converge at WCM-Q to discuss chronic disease epidemic

Doha, Qatar: The Institute for Population Health (IPH) at Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar (WCM Q) has played a leading role in the creation of the Doha...

Doha, Qatar: The Institute for Population Health (IPH) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) has played a leading role in the creation of the ‘Doha Declaration’ – a unified strategy to promote Lifestyle Medicine to tackle the alarming global surge in non-communicable diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension,, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

In February, more than 360 Lifestyle Medicine experts and other health professionals gathered at WCM-Q for a symposium, which also featured inaugural summit of the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance Leadership Forum. The pinnacle of the forum was marked by 26 prominent leaders in Lifestyle Medicine, hailing from diverse corners of the globe, coming together to endorse and sign the Doha Declaration, a bold and ambitious agreement that establishes a set of guiding principles to advance the integration of evidence-based lifestyle interventions in healthcare systems to reduce the burden of chronic disease for all communities worldwide.

Lifestyle Medicine (LM) employs evidence-based strategies to prevent, treat, and manage chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension while enhancing overall health and wellbeing. These strategies encompass adopting healthy lifestyle habits such as regular physical activity, healthy diet, stress management, restorative sleep, social connections, and abstaining from harmful substances.

Dr. Ravinder Mamtani, professor of population health sciences, and vice dean for population health and lifestyle medicine, said: “Non-communicable diseases now pose perhaps the greatest challenge to human health worldwide. Extensive research shows that Lifestyle Medicine approaches are highly effective at reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases, but also that they are underused and poorly integrated into conventional healthcare systems.” Dr. Mamtani, who is also Vice-Chair of the Advisory Board of the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance, added: “With the Doha Declaration, we set out our aims to work together on a global basis to make evidence-based Lifestyle Medicine far more accessible, to help prevent, manage and in some cases reverse chronic diseases”.

Lifestyle Medicine has the potential to offer cost-effective, efficient, sustainable, and equitable health care to individuals worldwide, irrespective of their socioeconomic status.