The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) today announced longevity researcher, Blue Zones Founder, National Geographic Fellow and best-selling author Dan Buettner as opening keynote for its 2024 Lifestyle Medicine annual conference. Further, Blue Zones, LLC, the global leader in well-being solutions that help people live better, longer, is the Presenting Community Health Sponsor. The conference, set for October 27-30 in person at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando, Florida, as well as virtually, will showcase the evidence-based why and how of lifestyle medicine, including food as medicine, as the urgently needed foundation of a transformed and sustainable system of healthcare delivery. It will also serve as the climax to ACLM's 20th anniversary celebration.

ST. LOUIS, June 18, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) today announced longevity researcher, Blue Zones Founder, National Geographic Fellow and best-selling author Dan Buettner as opening keynote for its 2024 Lifestyle Medicine Annual Conference, set for October 27-30, in person at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando, Florida, as well as virtually. Blue Zones, LLC, the global leader in well-being solutions that help people live better, longer, is the Presenting Community Health Sponsor. The hybrid event will showcase how lifestyle medicine is changing the paradigm of medical education and clinical practice to restore health for those living with chronic disease and will celebrate ACLM's 20th anniversary.

The term "blue zones" was first coined by Dan Buettner during a National Geographic expedition he led in 2004, as part of his ongoing 25-year research project on regions of the world with reportedly high longevity. With the support of National Geographic, Buettner and his team of scientists and demographers traveled the world in search of communities where people not only lived longer but also enjoyed a high quality of life in their old age. After analyzing demographic data and interviewing numerous centenarians, they identified five regions that stood out for their extraordinary longevity and vitality and chronicled their findings of commonalities.

Buettner then used his findings to create healthy communities across the United States. The first effort, in Albert Lea, Minnesota, formed the blueprint for other community transformation programs that lower healthcare costs, improve productivity, and boost national recognition as great places to live, work and play.

Today Buettner is a National Geographic Fellow, New York Times bestselling author of eight books on longevity and happiness, and a three-time Guinness World Record distance cycling holder. The Emmy-winning 2023 documentary series he co-produced about his discoveries, "Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones," is currently available on Netflix

Other conference keynote sessions and speakers will include:

"More Consensus than Controversy in Nutrition: Whole Food Plant Based Diet"

• Christopher Gardner, PhD; Director of Nutrition Studies, Stanford Prevention Research Center
• Michelle Hauser, MD, MS, MPA, FACP, DipABLM, FACLM, Chef; Obesity Medicine Director of the Medical Weight Loss Program, Stanford Lifestyle and Weight Management Center

"What Actually Keeps Us Happy and Healthy? Lessons from an 85-Year Study of Human Thriving"

• Robert Waldinger, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"Bringing Food as Medicine to Scale - A Systems Change for Health Equity"

• Michel Nischan, Chef, Co-founder and Chair of Wholesome Wave

Panel: "Lifestyle Medicine Clinical Intervention: At the Heart of Whole Health"

• Wayne Jonas, MD, President of Healing Works Foundation
• Wayne Dysinger, MD, MPH, FACLM, FACPM, DipABLM, Founder & CEO of Lifestyle Medical
• Shawn Martin, MHCDS, CEO of AAFP
• Kameron Matthews, MD, JD, FAAFP, Chief Health Officer of Cityblock Health
• ACLM Board Member & Planning Committee Chair Meagan L. Grega, MD, FACLM, DipABLM, moderator

Panel: "Cultivating the Future: The Intersection of Education and Lifestyle Medicine"

• Lisa Howley, PhD, MEd, AAMC Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships
• Kristin Schleiter Hitchell, JD, LLM, ACGME Vice President, Public Policy and External Relations
• Brenda Rea, MD, DrPH, PT, RD, DipABLM, LM Intensivist, Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC) Executive Director
• Jennifer Trilk, PhD, FACSM, FAGLN, DipACLM, Director of the Lifestyle Medicine Core Curriculum at University of South Carolina Greenville School of Medicine
• ACLM President Beth Frates, MD, FACLM, DipABLM, moderator

Panel: "Healthcare Innovation Landscape: Perspectives from Key Leaders in the Field"

• Kate Goodrich, MD, MHS, Humana CMO and Former CMO of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)
• Susannah Bernheim, MD, MHS, CMMI Chief Quality Officer/Acting Chief Medical Officer
• Robert D. Karch, MD, MPH, FAAP, Director of the Florida Department of Health Orange County
• Louise Probst, MBA, RN, Executive Director of the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition
• ACLM President-elect Padmaja Patel, MD, FACLM, DipABLM, moderator

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

• Airica Steed, EdD, MBA, RN, CSSMBB, FACHE, IASSC – The MetroHealth System
• Kim Williams, MD, MACC, MASNC, FAHA, FESC – University of Louisville

Other keynote presenters will include:

• Co-directors of the Brain Health and Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Dean Sherzai, MD, MAS, MPH, and Ayesha Sherzai, MD, presenting on the powerful connection of LM and brain health and cognitive function.

Blue Zones, LLC, the global leader in longevity research and well-being solutions, has been named Presenting Community Health Sponsor of LM2024. Blue Zones and ACLM recently announced a partnership to address the health crisis of rising chronic disease rates and rising healthcare-related costs. The partnership brings together Blue Zones' evidence-based roadmap to living a better, longer life with ACLM's expertise in lifestyle medicine, a proven treatment approach that utilizes therapeutic lifestyle changes such as whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, positive social connection, and the avoidance of risky substances.

"We are thrilled to have Dan Buettner kick off our 2024 conference, and Blue Zones to be our presenting community health sponsor," said Conference Chair Meagan L. Grega, MD, FACLM, DipABLM. "It is timely as the event will be the crescendo to ACLM's 20th anniversary, which also coincides with the 20th anniversary of Buettner's first National Geographic expedition to identify the world's blue zones regions. Also, it highlights the power that our new partnership has to combine the impact of lifestyle medicine delivered in clinical settings with support outside in the community to foster population health and well-being."

"Blue Zones is proud to be Presenting Community Health Sponsor for the 2024 Lifestyle Medicine Conference," said Ben Leedle, Blue Zones CEO. "We are excited to champion the transformative impact of lifestyle medicine and contribute to a global movement towards sustainable health, well-being and longevity."

In addition to keynotes, LM2024 will feature other exceptional faculty in concurrent sessions in four tracks. A wide array of 15 pre-conference and four post-conference in-depth workshops will be offered in-person; three will be offered virtually. All workshops are part of the registration process, at an additional registration fee. The event will also include an exhibitor pavilion, award presentations and networking opportunities with medical professionals and industry leaders. Research Row will be featured onsite, highlighting what is anticipated to be roughly 200 research abstracts.

LM2024 Online includes livestream and on-demand access to the in-person keynote and concurrent sessions of LM2024, as well as interactive networking opportunities, free bonus content and more.

LM2024 is open to primary care and specialist MDs and DOs, physician associates, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, social workers, speech audiologists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, health coaches, healthcare executives, students, medical residents, researchers and others seeking to learn more about lifestyle medicine and/or establish or grow lifestyle medicine clinical practices.

Attendees may receive continuing education credit for the lifestyle medicine-related content/sessions. Attendees will have 60 days post conference to claim live CME. Recordings of the plenary and concurrent sessions will be available to conference registrants for a full year.

For more information about the conference or to register, visit Lifestyle Medicine Conference 2024 - American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

In-person registration will close on October 21, or when the 2,500-person maximum in-person capacity is reached. Last year's in-person conference sold out six weeks in advance. Virtual registration will remain open throughout the conference. In-person workshop registration will close on October 4, although most workshops sell-out far in advance of the deadline.

The American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) certification exam will be offered on a day of the participant's choice between November 23 and December 8th at Prometric testing centers across the U.S. Registration for the exam will close September 30th. New this year, attendance at LM2024, either in person or online, satisfies the live CME prerequisite to sit for the ABLM certification exam.

About ACLM®
Serving as a transformation catalyst, disruptor of the status quo, and a galvanized force for change, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine is the nation's medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system, essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole person health. ACLM educates, equips, empowers, and supports its members through quality, evidence-based education, certification, and research to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease, with the clinical outcome goal of health restoration as opposed to lifelong disease management.

About Blue Zones®
Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live better, longer. The company's work is rooted in explorations and research done by founder and National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner in blue zones regions around the world, where people live extraordinarily long and/or happy lives. The original research and findings were released in Buettner's bestselling books The Blue Zones Solution, The Blue Zones of Happiness, The Blue Zones, Thrive, Blue Zones Kitchen, Blue Zones American Kitchen, Blue Zones Challenge, and Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer—all published by National Geographic books. A hit docuseries, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, was released on Netflix in 2023. Using original Blue Zones research, Blue Zones works with cities and counties to make healthy choices easier through permanent and semi-permanent changes to our human-made surroundings. Participating communities have experienced double-digit drops in obesity and tobacco use and have saved millions of dollars in healthcare costs.

Media Contact

Jean B Tips, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, 2142401872, jtips@lifestylemedicine.org, www.lifestylemedicine.org

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