BSLM 2021 Annual Conference

Join us for BSLM2021 our fifth lifestyle medicine conference dedicated to the art and science of healthy longevity.

This year’s British Society of Lifestyle Medicine conference takes place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre from September 2nd – 4th.

Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has never been a greater need for lifestyle medicine. People with chronic health conditions have been at much greater risk from the virus, and lifestyle medicine offers hope that we can build resilience in our populations against this and future communicative disease threats.

Once again we will be bringing you leading figures from the global lifestyle medicine community, including experts from healthcare and medicine, academia, public health and scientific research.

Our collective goal is to transform healthcare, exploring new approaches to the prevention, treatment, management and reversal of chronic disease.

There really is no conference quite like this in the UK, one which brings together clinicians, scientists, researchers, health professionals and also patients.

A message from our chairman

---

The last 12 months have been the greatest public health challenge we have seen in our lifetimes.

The Covid-19 virus has claimed the lives of millions of people around the world and placed unprecedented pressures on our healthcare systems.

Many BSLM members, whether clinicians or allied health professionals have been on the frontline in the fight against the virus. It has placed a huge toll on their own mental health and wellbeing – while laying bare the personal and societal costs of chronic disease.

Here in the UK, the pandemic has thrown a spotlight on how we deliver healthcare – and sadly it has exposed the fundamental need for new approaches. These new approaches, built on the pillars of lifestyle medicine, must emphasise the lifestyle factors behind many non-communicable diseases – and the social determinants which are often a critical factor. Without blaming or judging, lifestyle medicine offers the potential to support people to make positive changes to improve their health and wellbeing.

BSLM2021 will be an opportunity to come together and reflect on our experiences during the pandemic and what it means for lifestyle medicine.

We look forward to welcoming you, whether you are a committed member of our growing movement – or if you have not yet joined BSLM.

No doubt many of your experiences during the pandemic will have been difficult – and indeed your own health may have suffered.

Much of the focus of BSLM2021 will be on supporting you. Our conference will be an opportunity for you to connect, be active, meditate and eat healthily – while reflecting on your year and reprioritising your own health goals, so you can deliver the best care possible for your own patients.

We can’t wait to see you in Edinburgh this September – the city where we founded the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine five years ago.

Rob Lawson, BSLM chairman

We will be sharing details of speakers with you soon but please get in touch with the office with ideas and suggestions – or if you would like to volunteer to help out with organising the conference.

BSLM2021 also provides opportunities to meet and network with others with a shared interest in lifestyle medicine. There is no other networking event in the UK which brings together such a broad spectrum of people all with a shared commitment to reversing the rising tide of chronic disease in the UK.

A ‘real world’ conference and a virtual event

Despite the current challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic we are committed to hosting a ‘real world’ conference this year. With the current ambitious roll out of a Covid-19 vaccine programme we are as confident as we can be that restrictions will have been lifted by the end of the summer enough to allow events such as our conference to go ahead.

We are hopeful that the timing of the conference will allow safe socialising – which is so crucial if we are to reconnect with others. If covid circumstances permit we hope we can re-ignite your important social connections in the world of lifestyle medicine with an in-person event’

Our first ever virtual event was a huge success last September – and we want to bring some of the benefits of this approach to our conference in Edinburgh.

So as well as being able to buy tickets to attend in person we will also be ‘live streaming’ content for those unable to come to Edinburgh.

So join us in person or from the comfort of your own living room – this year the choice is yours.