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Chronic disease is prevalent in the United States, with approximately 60% of adults living with at least one chronic disease and 4 in 10 having two or more, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while chronic diseases affect all demographic groups, patients over the age of 65 are especially at risk for developing chronic diseases simply because of their age.
“Reduced physical activity is a good example,” says Dr. Brooke Buckley, medical director of Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital in suburban Detroit. This hospital is part of Henry Ford Health. AMA Health System Program provides enterprise solutions that provide leaders, physicians, and care teams with the resources to advance the future of healthcare.
“Beyond the age of 30, you tend to naturally lose muscle mass,” says Dr. Buckley, a general surgeon, board-certified in lifestyle medicine, and past president of the Maryland State Medical Association. Ta. “We don't run on the playground or climb trees, so unless we intentionally build muscle, we lose it.”
Fortunately, targeted help is available through lifestyle medicine, a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary means of treating chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. You can take it.
In honor of Seniors Month, May of each year is designated AMA Senior Physician Recognition Month. Learn about the AMA Advanced Physician Section. This section voices and advocates on issues affecting senior doctors who are working full-time or part-time or are retired.
you already know what works
Ann American College of Lifestyle MedicineThe booklet “6 Ways to Manage Your Health'', created by , describes the six pillars of lifestyle medicine.
According to Dr. Buckley, physicians should focus on these pillars not only in terms of how they can help patients, but also how they can guide their own actions.
“None of that is particularly unusual. These are things we all intuitively know to be true,” Dr. Buckley said. “But as we get older, each thing tends to become harder to do, especially if they aren't fixed habits. So it's even more important to intentionally build around them.”
This booklet explains each of these pillars in more detail.
- Whole foods, plant-based nutrition.
- physical activity.
- stress management.
- Avoidance of hazardous substances.
- restorative sleep.
- social connections.
According to the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, these evidence-based, holistic, prescriptive, focused lifestyle changes can help prevent or reduce chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. It can even be improved. The AMA Senior Physicians Division focused on this because older adult physicians have an opportunity to promote lifestyle medicine in adjusting their lives.Learn more about his AMA's innovative work supporting physicians Prevent type 2 diabetes Achieve quickly and sustainably Improving hypertension control.
Do as I say and do as I do
“We always say, 'See, do, teach,'” Dr. Buckley says. Doctors say, “We talk a lot about healthy eating. We talk a lot about getting enough sleep. But many of us don't model that behavior at all, and that's actually an opportunity. ”
One of the things that makes lifestyle medicine so elegant, she said, is that doctors can make an impact just by how they conduct themselves in public.
“If I am a senior physician and I choose to eat healthy and, for example, walk instead of drive, I am providing health to my community by modeling healthy behaviors. That’s the case,” she said. “Our senior physicians really have an opportunity to help define this area by adjusting the way they live their lives.”
Dr. Buckley pointed out that living by the pillars can also help older physicians find ways to conclude their careers in a productive and satisfying way.
“I really like the idea that your practice can evolve as you age,” she says. “Let's say you're a surgeon and you can't be in the operating room anymore because your eyes or hands have changed. Well, you could be a mentor or a teacher, or you could be a mentor or a teacher, or you could have a post-op space that's like an extension of your practice.” Maintaining a sense of social connection and purpose will give you time and freedom to transition into a life outside of medical practice.”