Advancing Health Equity and Addressing Health Disparities Within and Beyond the Clinic Walls through Lifestyle Medicine

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) established the Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) Initiative to address health disparities through lifestyle medicine solutions. It’s no secret that communities of color and individuals living in rural communities are disproportionately impacted by lifestyle-related chronic diseases. In addition, these unique populations are more likely to experience nutrition insecurity and other social determinants of health (SDoH) that impede their ability to lead healthy lives. In this presentation, Dr. Kim Williams and Dr. Airica Steed explore the power of lifestyle medicine in underserved patient populations who have a harder time accessing this lifesaving treatment option. As lifestyle medicine expands as a specialty that partners alongside community-based organizations to address social needs that clinicians are not able to “treat” in the clinic, historically marginalized communities will benefit from a lifestyle medicine approach, helping to narrow the health disparity gap.