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November 2025
Welcome member to
Your Home of Lifestyle Medicine News
As we approach the end of the year, we hope you are managing the colder weather and shorter days, and finding time to look after your own wellbeing during this busy period.
As always, we want to take a moment to thank our growing membership and the diverse, passionate community that surrounds us. We’re grateful that, month after month, you follow our updates, contribute your ideas, and help build this fantastic network across the UK and beyond.
In this November newsletter, you will find key updates on Lifestyle Medicine, a summary of BSLM activity over the past month, and an outline of what is planned for December.
In this month's newsletter...
HEADLINE NEWS
The World Lifestyle Medicine Organisation (WLMO) proudly announces that its president, Dr. Ifeoma Monye, will receive the Inaugural Fellowship Award of the Society of Lifestyle Medicine of Nigeria (SOLONg) on 29 November 2025, during its 7th Annual Scientific Conference taking place in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
This prestigious award recognises Dr. Monye’s exceptional leadership as the founder, inaugural president and chairman of SOLONg, and her pioneering role in establishing Lifestyle Medicine as a recognised clinical and academic discipline in Nigeria and across Africa. Beyond the continent, Dr. Monye has emerged as one of the world’s most influential advocates for Lifestyle Medicine through her work as president of WLMO.
WLMO extends its heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Monye on this well-deserved recognition and celebrates her ongoing contributions to strengthening the global Lifestyle Medicine movement.
Our Biggest Learning Offer of the Year is Now Live!
Until the 2nd December, you can access a 50% discount on five selected BSLM courses. These flexible CPD opportunities are designed for busy healthcare professionals and provide practical, evidence-informed insights that can be applied directly in clinical practice.
Save 50% on:
• A Primer to Integrated Pain Management Using Lifestyle Medicine Principles
• An Introduction to Functional Somatic Disorders
• Low-Carbohydrate Approaches for People with Type 2 Diabetes
• Mediterranean Diet and Lifestyle Medicine
• Metabolic Syndrome
If someone in your network may benefit from this offer, please feel free to share this message so they can make the most of the opportunity.
To access the offer yourself, please visit our website.
LIFESTYLE MEDICINE IN FOCUS
Some noteworthy lifestyle medicine features within the recent news in Britain.
Women may gain greater heart benefits from physical activity than men, even with half the exercise time.
A new Nature Cardiovascular Research study of 85,000 UK Biobank participants found that women achieved a 30% lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) with 250 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week, while men needed around 530 minutes for similar protection.
Among people already living with CHD, active women also saw three-times greater reductions in mortality risk than men.
These findings challenge the “one-size-fits-all” approach in global exercise guidelines and highlight the value of sex-specific, personalised prevention. This is a core principle of Lifestyle Medicine.
The BMJ has published its latest Impact Report, highlighting the organisation’s global influence on health systems, clinical practice, and policy.
This year’s report demonstrates how trusted evidence is changing lives, from shaping national policies to improving safety on the frontline.
Highlights include research in The BMJ that helped prompt UK legislation mandating folic acid fortification of flour, a BMJ Innovations study accelerating the first device to eliminate racial bias in oxygen monitoring, and the Office of Health Economics using BMJ Impact Analytics to show its work influences policy four times above the global average.
Other Lifestyle Medicine News and Events
We want to advise our followers that, as a charity, we welcome membership from organisations aligned with our aims, and in line with strict ethical and sponsorship policies in order to provide funding sources to the charity.
If you have a query around the subject matter we will happily discuss this with you, do drop us a DM or email: Office@bslm.org.uk as we want to make sure this content is a good fit for you.
LifeMed Community: Journaling for Winter Wellbeing
As a Christmas Gift, the LifeMed Community has created a FREE Journaling for Winter Wellbeing Countdown Calendar.
In the busiest seasons of life, self-care often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. However, the truth is that when you prioritise your wellbeing, everything else flows more easily.
Journaling is a powerful tool for promoting wellbeing, offering a simple yet profound way to process emotions, reflect on experiences and cultivate a sense of mindfulness.
Sign up using the link below for 24 Days of thoughtful journaling prompts, guides and inspirational quotes direct to your inbox, starting on the 1st December.
Journaling helps us slow down and reflect, making space for what truly matters. Whether it’s just a few minutes in the morning or before bed, putting pen to paper
can help you:
🌟 Feel more in control
🌟 Focus on what’s important
🌟 Stay connected to your “why”
In this busy time of year, join us for this daily journaling practice, to promote wellbeing throughout the festive season and beyond!
LifeMed Community: Supporting Doctors, Coaches and Healthcare Professionals
Linwoods: Roast Brussels Sprout Salad
When the days get colder, it’s nice to have something fresh and colourful on the table. This Roast Brussels Sprout Salad recipe from Linwoods is just that. It’s a mix of roasted chickpeas, pomegranate, apple and a tahini dressing that feels both comforting and light.
Adding a spoonful of Linwoods Milled Flaxseed, Almonds, Walnuts, Brazil Nuts & Co-Q10 is an easy way to give it a little extra goodness. It brings fibre, plant-based omega 3 and nutrients that can help keep your energy up during the darker months.
It comes together quickly, tastes great, and brings a bit of brightness to winter meals.
Find the full recipe and more on why this is the perfect winter warmer via the button below.
LATEST NEWS AT BSLM
Reflections on Lifestyle Medicine for Healthy Weight Management/GLP-11 Treatment Wraparound
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Weight Management Study Day. It was great to bring colleagues together to explore lifestyle medicine approaches to weight management, with and without GLP-1 wraparound support.
A reminder that all registered attendees will receive the event recording once it’s available.
We’re also pleased to share that our Weight Management e-learning course is now live, which is perfect for anyone looking to build on the themes covered during the day.
The Ella Dawson Foundation is a UK-registered charity supporting young adults aged 18–30 who are living with and beyond cancer, along with their families and carers. The charity offers tailored psychological, physical, nutritional, and emotional wellbeing services designed to empower young adults to live well through and beyond cancer.
The Foundation was created in memory of Ella Dawson, who sadly passed away at the age of 24 after two years of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. During her own experience, Ella recognised a gap in age-appropriate wellbeing support for young adults navigating cancer in the UK. Determined to make a difference, she used her diagnosis to design a wellbeing blueprint to help others. The Ella Dawson Foundation is her legacy.
Being diagnosed with cancer as a young adult brings a unique set of challenges. It is a time of life often focused on independence, relationships, education, and building a future, all of which can be abruptly disrupted by illness.
Many young adults find themselves without access to age-appropriate, holistic care that focuses on their unique needs and challenges. The Ella Dawson Foundation was created to bridge that gap, offering holistic, compassionate, and highly impactful support that helps young adults and their families and carers navigate the immense physical, emotional, practical, and social challenges of cancer, and rebuild their lives beyond it.
The charity provides support for up to two years post-completion of active treatment, recognising that the effects of cancer do not end when treatment does. With support often described as “life-changing” and clinically significant outcomes, the charity is now a trusted referral partner for more than 80 hospitals across the UK and works closely with other charities and organisations across the sector.
Hear from our aligned organisation, Move Against Cancer, as they share an update on their work and the impact they are making within communities...
At MOVE Against Cancer charity we support people impacted by cancer to be more active. We are particularly passionate about moving together, moving in the community. Exercise is one of the most important things anyone diagnosed with cancer can do to enhance wellbeing and improve health outcomes.
There’s increasing evidence to support this. A recent trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (June 2025), found that a 3-year structured exercise programme initiated soon after chemotherapy for colon cancer resulted in “significantly longer disease-free survival and findings consistent with longer overall survival”.
We have three main areas of work:
● A bespoke online movement programme for 13-30-year-olds with cancer
● 120+ community-led 5k Your Way groups, located at designated parkruns.
● An online hub of movement videos, blogs, workshops and a podcast.
“The MOVE Online Programme got me moving again. Now that my fitness has returned, so too has my confidence. As a result I’ve got back my purpose in life”.
“At a time in my life when everyone told me to rest and hide from the world while I started dealing with my cancer, 5k Your Way gave me the permission, motivation and drive to keep active”.
We’re always looking for 5k Your Way ambassadors! Do get in touch if you’d like to get involved.
Dr Julie Gray, our North East Scotland Regional Lead, spoke at Respiratory MCM this month, covering how lifestyle medicine can support patients as we move into the winter months and offering practical strategies for building respiratory resilience.
She also delivered a session for the Grampian Community Pharmacy Group, offering an introduction to lifestyle medicine and sharing a series of case studies on deprescribing and health improvement. These examples highlight how patients have successfully reversed aspects of chronic disease through evidence-based lifestyle measures, illustrating the impact that small, sustainable changes can have on long-term health
Dr Varun Anand delivered a session on lifestyle medicine at Pulse Live Liverpool, speaking to GPs and other primary care professionals as part of the event’s CPD programme. His talk provided an accessible overview of the core principles of lifestyle medicine, covering smoking cessation, weight management and the role of physical activity in improving patient outcomes.
It's great to see BSLM members contributing to wider understanding in this way, and sessions like this play an important role in strengthening our community and promoting the value of lifestyle medicine.
What's happening in our communities?
Signpost your patients to BSLM’s first patient webinar series!
This series is for patients or anyone living with or recovering from a chronic condition who wants to hear how others have used lifestyle medicine on their own journey.
It is a chance for open conversation and connection through shared experience with lots of time for discussion at the end so your patients can see recovery in action and the impact lifestyle medicine can have on real people!
The final session of this series is the 4th December, so make sure to come along.
Please note: The information shared is to provide information and an opportunity for connection only. It should not be interpreted as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. No healthcare professional-patient relationship is established through participation.
Participants are strongly encouraged to speak with their own healthcare providers before making any changes to their health, lifestyle, or treatment regimen based on anything discussed in the group.
Live Well East Lothian Update
We would like to share the good news that we have received a grant from the R P Milroy Trust “to provide relief to those in need by reason of age, ill health, disability, financial or other disadvantage”.
We are very grateful to the trust for choosing to support us as it means a great deal to our participants, their family and carers, our instructors, and the wider Live Well and BSLM team.
The charity has been running since 1992 and it is with these generous contributions and a belief in our mission that we are able to keep providing such a critical service in our community.
Is there something like Live Well East Lothian that you refer your patients to, or something that instills a sense of community and wellbeing? Let us know below, we'd love to share initiatives like this one near you!
FEATURED BSLM EVENTS
Head to the dedicated BSLM events page for the full list of upcoming events...
Our Monthly Webinar is ON HOLD for December..
.. we look forward to welcoming you again in January!
We hope you enjoyed our previous webinar...
Our previous webinars are below if you want to catch up on them!
Schedule the following in your diary for December 2025!
2025 Global Forum - Creating Health through Understanding and Personalising Value | Sprink | 4th and 5th December 2025 | Scottish Event Campus, Glasgow
The 2025 Global Forum will feature an inspiring lineup of visionary leaders, innovators, and renowned experts from health care, policy, industry, and research.
Voices of Lived Experience Recovery in Action Webinar Series | 4th December
This free webinar series is aimed at people living with a chronic illness or condition who are looking to hear from others navigating similar paths. This is the last session for 2025, so make sure to come along!
11th International Summit on Food, Nutrition and Health | 10th-13th December | Scotland
The NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, in lead partnership with BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, the International Academy of Nutrition Educators (IANE), the iKANN Nutrition Research Registry, the Global Nutrition, Health & Disease Programme at Ulster University and the Mobile Teaching Kitchen International (MTKi) Initiative, is thrilled to announce the 11th International Summit on Food, Nutrition and Health, taking place from 10th to 13th December 2025 in Dundee and St Andrews, Scotland.
Social Prescribing and Neighbourhood Health: Looking to the Future | 16th December | National Academy for Social Prescribing
Join NASP for an exploration of the role that social prescribing will play in the future of neighbourhood health in England. This two-hour online session will highlight key achievements to date and discuss evolving role of social prescribing within neighbourhood health services.
Other events to note...
Webinar : BSLM & How We Work with Business | 19th January | Online Zoom Webinar
Join BSLM Executive Director, Dr Fraser Quin & COO Emma Mulligan, to hear more about why we deal with business, who we deal with and how.
Lifestyle Medicine in Practice Seminar | 10th February 9:30-4:30 | Online Zoom Webinar
This event will showcase Lifestyle Medicine in practice. It will provide the data that lifestyle medicine is the foundation and solution to making a difference in reducing the impact of long-term health conditions for ourselves, and our patients. This event offers 7hrs CPD.
Learning Academy
This Month’s Learning Academy Update
We are really excited to see lots of you at the BSLM Weight Management in-person study day on 29th of November. This day also marks the release of our Learning Academy Weight Management E-learning course. As we know, weight management is incredibly important and topical in today’s health landscape. So, we are really proud to be able to offer you this groundbreaking course, which provides a fresh, lifestyle first perspective on the subject and is essential learning for anyone supporting people to manage their weight, on both medicated and unmedicated journeys.
Thought about doing our Core Accreditation?
NHS NETWORKS
Top News Stories in November
Rollout of neighbourhood health centres
How housing and public transport can help tackle health inequalities
Type 2 diabetes path to remission
Government acts to tackle rising childhood obesity epidemic
Email us - office@bslm.org.uk
