Practical implementation of lifestyle medicine in primary care consultations
Rosália PÁSCOA, Tehila MAZAL, Gokce ISCAN, Joaquim SEMIDE PINTO and Susana SILVA
Lifestyle Medicine (LM) is strongly recommended by leading international organisations, including WHO, ADA, and AHA, for the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Despite robust evidence, many family doctors report difficulties integrating structured lifestyle interventions into routine consultations. These challenges stem from time constraints, limited practical tools, uncertainty about how to initiate interventions, and insufficient knowledge and experience, which ultimately undermine confidence. This workshop provides a simple, operational framework—grounded in recognised guidelines—to support the effective and realistic use of LM within everyday primary care practice.Understand key international LM recommendations relevant to primary care. Identify practical, stepwise strategies for integrating lifestyle interventions into time-limited consultations. Apply evidence-based approaches to motivational counselling and behavioural change monitoring. Analyse real clinical cases to understand intervention pathways and recognise achievable outcomes.A highly interactive format combining short conceptual inputs, facilitated small-group discussions, analysis of real patient cases, practical communication exercises, and collaborative reflection. Structured tools and checklists will be introduced to support immediate application in clinical practice. Workshop schedule (60 minutes): 10 min: Scientific background and overview of key global LM recommendations. 15 min: Practical steps for initiating and structuring LM interventions in primary care consultations. 20 min: Small-group work with real clinical cases — defining goals, interventions, and outcomes. 10 min: Focused motivational counselling exercise adaptable to routine time constraints. 5 min: Final synthesis, transferable tools, and Q&A.Participants will gain concrete skills to integrate LM into brief consultations, operationalise evidence-based recommendations, and tailor interventions to individual patient contexts. They are expected to leave equipped to apply strategies that improve adherence, risk-factor management, and clinical outcomes.This workshop offers a pragmatic, evidence-based, and highly transferable approach to strengthening the role of primary care in chronic disease prevention and management through Lifestyle Medicine.
