Event Details
Lifestyle Medicine is evidence-based, clinical care that supports behaviour change through person-centered techniques to improve mental wellbeing, social connection, healthy eating, physical activity, sleep and minimisation of harmful substances and behaviours – British Society of Lifestyle Medicine
A note from Dr Neema Jabbar, GP Clinical Lead, Essex EQUIP
Having ascertained that we are all becoming a little ‘zoomed out’ with virtual meetings and the online world, we are dipping our toes back into face-to-face learning. The EQUIP team and I are therefore thrilled to be able to bring you ‘back into the room again’ with our up-and-coming ‘Lifestyle Medicine conference.
In a bid to increase awareness of this emerging and essential speciality amongst GPs, nurses and allied healthcare professionals in Essex and beyond we have an exciting lineup of practising clinicians hoping to inspire, refresh and supply us with some of the nuts and bolts of lifestyle medicine to transform our clinical practice in a meaningful and sustainable way.
We are covering as many aspects of lifestyle medicine as possible, in particular, chronic disease prevention, management of long-term conditions, physical activity/sport and exercise and food as medicine, affecting lifestyle change and sustainable practice.
As well as the stimulating lineup below you will be able to pose your questions and challenge our speakers and delve into the themes of the topics more deeply. We hope to generate discussion and ultimately fuel awareness of the issues into action.
But don’t take my word for it, come and learn for yourselves…
We are very pleased to be hosting the first EQUIP Lifestyle Medicine Conference in Essex this Autumn. A face-to-face event held at The Lion Inn including a recording that will be available after the event. This will be an interactive day using a mix of live and virtual presentations from an emerging area in medicine. We will be bringing together the following speakers to discuss integrating the principles of lifestyle medicine into your practice. The conference is suitable for GPs, nurses and allied healthcare professionals.
Dr Vasandhara Thoroughgood: Physical Activity
Dr Vasandhera Throughgood is a salaried GP in Colchester, Essex with a keen interest in lifestyle medicine and planetary health. After completing the Diploma in Lifestyle Medicine in 2020 she took on the role of a Physical Activity Clinical Champion for the East of England in 2021, representing OHID, the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. She is the chair of Greener Practice Essex & Suffolk and Climate & Sustainability Lead for the RCGP Essex Faculty. She is particularly interested in the health and environmental co-benefits of lifestyle interventions and enjoys talking to her patients about changes that are ‘good for them and good for the planet’.
Dr Hannah Short: Lifestyle medicine and the Menopause
Dr Hannah Short is a GP Specialist in Menopause, POI and Premenstrual Disorders, recognised by the British Menopause Society (BMS), The International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD) and The National Association for Premenstrual Syndromes (NAPS).
Hannah has a particular interest in induced menopause, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and hormone sensitivity disorders. She is a member of the IAPMD Clinical Advisory Board and the Surgical Menopause Advisory Committee, and has previously worked as a volunteer doctor for The Daisy Network (a charity dedicated to girls and women diagnosed with POI). She also has a keen interest in the role of plant-based nutrition in hormonal health, and has undertaken further training in Lifestyle Medicine with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
She is co-author of “The Complete Guide to POI and Early Menopause” (published June 2022).
Dr Lolu Ogunniyi: Food First – Eating to prevent illness in the post-COVID context
A provocative conversation, discussing the surging chronic disease rates -mental and physical- in the context of food insecurity, health inequalities, time and workload pressures. Can the simple choice to put something different in our mouths have an appreciable impact?
Dr Lolu Ogunniyi is passionate about helping people understand and take charge of their health; to look closely at the root causes of illness that must be addressed in order to improve present health and prevent/reduce the risk of future ill-health. She has a Diploma in Lifestyle Medicine from the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine (2020) and is a member of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine. She is an NHS GP in Ipswich and served for four years on the local Clinical Commissioning Group, with particular emphasis on self-care and prevention; children, young people, and families; and mental health and wellbeing. She also runs her own business, Parakletus Living Wellness where the mission is to rebuild and restore health, wholeness, and ultimately hope in families and communities.
Dr Tamsin Ellis: Sustainability in General Practice
Climate change- what’s it got to do with General Practice? As we move ever closer to the (still overlooked) emergency that is the climate crisis what can we do in General Practice?
Dr Tamsin Ellis is a GP in London, she currently co-chairs the national greener practice group and is an associate at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare where she facilitates the primary care sustainability course. Tamsin also works locally in North Central London as the ICS Net Zero lead for primary care. In 2020 she was awarded a RCGP North East London Faculty Sustainability scholarship. She is interested in the crossover of sustainable primary care with improving health equity. You can hear more about her work here on a recent Radio 4 programme: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000x4vq(link is external
Dr Kim Andrews and Dr David Oliver: A Low Carbs lifestyle-how we helped our patients lose a tonne of weight
Dr Kim Andrews and Dr David Oliver are very well known locally and famed for co-founding ‘The Freshwell low-carb project’ in 2019. Dr Andrews has written two recipe books/meal planners to help support her patients to make positive lifestyle changes and particularly enjoys deprescribing of diabetes and blood pressure medications. She has seen over 60 of her patients in Type 2 remission including stopping insulin in 6 cases.
Dr Oliver and The Freshwell team have developed several freely available low carb resources to help their patients with their low carb journey. This includes their website, an app and meal planners (all available via www.lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk).
The low carb project has been embraced by their local PCN, who have employed two ARRS funded health and wellbeing coaches, who deliver a six-week structured education programme.
Dr Dimple Devadas: Practical tips for promoting behaviour change in patients
Dr Dimple Devadas is a GP, Psychology health coach, Lifestyle Medicine Physician, Obesity specialist, Heartmath coach, Experimental creative artist, NLP master practitioner/trainer/consultant & behaviour design/change consultant, Medical journalist & writer, award winning smartphone film maker, dancer, meditation teacher, serial vol-entrepreneur, visiting lecturer and speaker in media, diversity, lifestyle health, creativity. Her session promises to be insightful and eye-opening.
Dr Ellen Fallows: Lifestyle Medicine and Social Determinants of Health
Dr Fallows is an experienced GP with expertise in supporting patients to treat and reverse long-term conditions through supported lifestyle change.
She has a post-graduate diploma in obesity and weight management and is board certified in Lifestyle Medicine. She worked with the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine to set-up their Learning Academy; writing their first course “Lifestyle Medicine: A Foundation Course” and collaborating on the Microbiome Science course. She has worked with NHS England, the RCGP and Department of Health and Social Care on issues around person-centred care and weight management. She teaches lifestyle medicine at Oxford University and lectures at a number of medical schools, GP training and trainer events. Ellen is committed to improving the standards of medical education around lifestyle approaches to support treatment and reversal of chronic disease and believes that we should offer this support to patients from all walks of life
Rohini Bajekal: A Lifestyle Medicine approach for PCOS
Rohini Bajekal is a nutritionist (MA Oxon, MSc Nutrition and Food Sciences, Dip IBLM) and a Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional. Rohini is passionate about making delicious, affordable and nourishing meals. In her spare time, she volunteers as a Cookery Teacher at Made in Hackney, the UK’s only eco-community cookery school and charity. Rohini is an Advisory Board Member and Communications Lead at Plant-Based Health Professionals UK – an organisation that provides education around the benefits of plant-based nutrition in the prevention of chronic diseases. She is the co-author of Living PCOS Free, along with her mother Dr Nitu Bajekal, a Senior Consultant ObGyn. Living PCOS Free is now available to order in the UK (and USA from 13th June)
