Dr Fatema Habbash, Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Senior Consultant in Family Medicine, and Lifestyle Medicine Specialist, participated as a speaker in the Lifestyle Medicine conference recently organised by Weill Cornell Medicine in Doha. 

During her participation, Dr Habbash emphasised the importance of integrating Lifestyle Medicine into healthcare for patients and the community, as well as in medical education. She highlighted the holistic approach to health promotion, which focuses on addressing the root causes of diseases through the adoption of healthy lifestyles.

Since obtaining the International Board Certification in Lifestyle Medicine from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, as the first family physician in the Kingdom of Bahrain to achieve this milestone, Dr Habbash has been at the forefront of awareness and educational efforts in this field. 

She has organised numerous workshops targeting healthcare professionals, school students and the wider community, focusing on the pillars of Lifestyle Medicine, including nutrition, physical activity, healthy sleep, mental health and positive psychology. She continues her efforts to support the shift towards comprehensive preventive healthcare, contributing to the improvement of quality of life at both individual and community levels.

In this context, experts and specialists from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the United States shared their insights during the conference proceedings regarding the tangible role of evidence-based Lifestyle Medicine interventions in reducing the heavy and debilitating burdens borne by both individuals and their communities as a result of chronic disease, its management and the initiation of recovery pathways. 

Furthermore, lectures focused on reviewing the latest innovations and emerging trends in Lifestyle Medicine and analysing and discussing the most effective methods for integrating and implementing Lifestyle Medicine in healthcare systems.

Lifestyle Medicine encourages the use of evidence-based lifestyle interventions to promote health and wellness, prevent and manage chronic diseases, and in some cases, initiate recovery pathways. These include, but are not limited to, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart disease and mental ill-health. It can even be effective in reducing the risk of dementia, stroke and some types of cancer. It revolves around promoting positive evidence-based lifestyle interventions, such as adopting healthy diets, regular physical exercise, abstaining from harmful substances, getting sufficient sleep and cultivating social connections.