About Us

The BSLM is an independent charity set up to promote the role of lifestyle medicine in improving people’s health and wellbeing. We empower healthcare professionals to support patients to prevent, manage and even reverse many chronic conditions through education and connection to our like-minded community.

Lifestyle Medicine is evidence-based, clinical care that supports behaviour change through person-centred techniques to improve mental wellbeing, social connection, healthy eating, physical activity, sleep and minimisation of harmful substances and behaviours.

It acknowledges the need for action on socio-economic determinants of health, provides education around the 6 key pillars as well proven techniques to sustain lifestyle changes.

The society was founded in 2016 by two GPs and a surgeon – Dr Rob Lawson, Laurence Stewart and Dr Michael Boyle.

We now have more than 3000 members focusing on multi-disciplinary teams including primary and secondary care clinicians, allied and public health professionals, scientists, educators, researchers and patients.

We are part of the World Lifestyle Medicine Organisation, a network of lifestyle medicine societies in countries across the world, and the European Lifestyle Medicine Council.

Our Aims

It is our mission to equip and inspire healthcare professionals and patients with the knowledge and skills to support sustainable lifestyle changes.

Our key aims are to …

  • Raise awareness of the principles and practice of lifestyle medicine
  • Promote greater adoption of lifestyle medicine in healthcare and society
  • Provide opportunities for learning and knowledge sharing among healthcare professionals around lifestyle medicine
  • Develop a solid evidence-base to support the use of lifestyle medicine in the treatment, management and reversal of chronic disease

Mission statement

BSLM is an independent, evidence-informed, non-profit-making and diverse regulated charitable organisation dedicated to promoting lifestyle as medicine as per our mission statement with honesty, transparency and integrity.

In particular BSLM recognises the primacy of science, and promotes the adoption of practical tools in management of the wider determinants of lifestyle related disease. BSLM does not adhere to any single approach to nutrition, and encourages a range of dietary approaches that are supported by appropriate scientific evidence. It has no religious affiliations and no political affiliations.

BSLM is registered as a member of the World Lifestyle Medicine Organisation (WLMO) which has (free) membership for properly constituted Lifestyle Medicine Societies around the world. We are regulated by the Office of Scottish Charities Regulator and produce annual reports and independently verified accounts for lodging and public scrutiny.

Our income derives from membership subscriptions, educational events and course programmes. Our outgoings relate solely to BSLM activities including running educational events for society members, health professionals, students and members of the public.

All the Trustees are elected at our AGM and serve out their duties very diligently. None of the Trustees benefit financially from membership of BSLM. Those who are doctors are encouraged to register their financial interests with whopaysthisdoctor.org.

There are no pre-requisites to membership beyond an assumption that the BSLM mission statement resonates with members and with which they agree.

If you’d like to view the BSLM constitution, click here.

BSLM’s 3 Principles of Lifestyle Medicine

Acknowledge the Need for Action on Socioeconomic Determinants of Health

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Proven techniques to support people to sustain lifestyle changes

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Knowledge of “The Six Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine”

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Ethical Principles Guiding the work of The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine

1: Introduction

1.1 The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) takes charitable status seriously and aims to deliver the best value it can for members and the wider beneficiaries. As an ethical organisation, our founding principles and values underpin all that we do and the decisions that we make. These are sometimes matters of judgement and it is therefore important that we have a framework of ethical standards through
which we will assess partnerships, investments, procurement, funding or other significant activities.

1.2 Our work is guided by the following ethical principles:

  • Doing good (beneficience)
  • Doing no harm (non-maleficience)
  • Acting with integrity and honesty
  • Being open and transparent in our work
  • Respecting every individual’s dignity, rights to be safe, to privacy and confidentiality
  • Valuing and improving diversity in our board of trustees, directors and workforce
  • A commitment to challenging any instances of sexism, gender inequality and other power imbalances that might leave some people at risk of harm.

1.3 These principles apply to all that we do as an organisation: operational delivery of our work, procurement decisions, any form of partnership, acceptance of funding (grants, donations, legacies, in kind support, agreement), investments or contractual relationships.

1.4 BSLM expects all Trustees, Staff, Volunteers and members to sign up to these principles in any work they carry out on behalf of BSLM.

2: Our ethical framework

2.1 We have a variety of considerations we take into account when initiating major new activities or partnerships as set out in 1.3 above.

2.2 Decisions taken in these areas will be informed by applying best practice due diligence assessments to ensure relevant activities meet our charitable objectives.

2.3 Decisions are also guided by the BSLM Vision and Mission Statement and Strategic Plans.

2.4 BSLM ensures compliance with relevant legal and regulatory obligations as set out by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

2.5 BSLM also encourages people to raise a concern with us directly if they wish to report any behaviour that breaches the principles in this framework. This can be done via office@bslm.org.uk

Our Annual Report

The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

View our annual report and financial statement for the year ended 31st October 2023