The Ohio State University College of Medicine is proud to offer a comprehensive lifestyle medicine curriculum and elective training program designed to equip medical students, residents, faculty and allied health professionals with the skills to prevent, treat and reverse chronic conditions by addressing the root causes of chronic disease through evidence-based lifestyle interventions.

This comprehensive ecosystem includes multiple entry points:

• A Lifestyle Medicine elective for residents and medical students
• A Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group (LMIG) open to all learners, faculty and staff
• The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC) for residents/fellows (faculty and staff can also access the LMRC)
• Board eligibility in lifestyle medicine for residents and fellows who complete LMRC requirements

What is lifestyle medicine?

Lifestyle Medicine includes evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approaches, such as plant-predominant nutrition, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, connectedness and avoidance of risky substances.

These interventions are used alongside standard therapies to help prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive decline and more.

Lifestyle medicine training focuses on six clinical pillars:

• Nutrition
• Physical activity
• Restorative sleep
• Social connection
• Stress management
• Avoidance of risky substances

Who is the lifestyle medicine program for?

Lifestyle medicine training is relevant for physicians across all specialties who manage chronic diseases. If you are a student at Ohio State University College of Medicine or a faculty or staff member employed at the medical center, you’re eligible to be enrolled in the lifestyle medicine curriculum.

• Residents and fellows: Complete a parallel lifestyle-medicine track during your primary specialty training.
• Faculty physicians: Complete all modules for board eligibility or select modules for CME.
• Other health professionals: Complete the foundational knowledge coursework. Certification requirements differ by discipline.

How physicians benefit from lifestyle medicine education

Lifestyle medicine training empowers physicians to:

• Address the root causes of disease
• Improve patient outcomes
• Enhance their own well-being
• Become role models for sustainable health

Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC)

Residents and fellows participating in the LMRC typically complete the educational and practicum components over 1–3 years. The structure is designed to integrate into your existing rotations and didactics. Application activities often leverage everyday clinical work and even your own behavior goals.

The educational component includes:

• 40 hours of interactive, expert-led didactic modules delivered virtually
• 60 hours of application activities, including journal clubs, culinary medicine experiences and wellness workshops

The practicum component includes:

• 400 lifestyle medicine-related patient encounters
• 10 hours of intensive therapeutic lifestyle change (ITLC) program experience
• 10 hours of group facilitation experience

Each LMRC resident is paired with a designated faculty lead who provides mentorship and ensures the resident meets both their personal learning goals and the curriculum requirements. Faculty-resident meetings occur quarterly throughout the program.

Upon completion, residents, fellows and physicians are eligible to sit for the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) certification exam.

What you’ll learn about lifestyle medicine

Throughout 10 core modules mapped to the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, you’ll learn to confidently assess, prescribe and document lifestyle interventions with dosing and follow-up.

Module 1: Introduction to lifestyle medicine
Module 2: Provider’s self-care and influence on community wellness
Module 3: Nutrition in chronic disease: Prevention, treatment and remission
Module 4: Physical activity science and prescription
Module 5: Sleep health science and interventions
Module 6: Substance use disorders: Prevention, diagnosis and treatment
Module 7: Fundamentals of health behavioral change
Module 8: Key clinical processes in lifestyle medicine
Module 9: Emotional and mental well-being
Module 10: The role of positive psychology

View the full curriculum

Lifestyle medicine certification and recognition

Graduates who complete all requirements of the LMRC receive a certificate of advanced training in Lifestyle Medicine and are eligible for board certification through the ABLM.

Experiential pathway to ABLM certification

For ABMS-certified physicians with at least two years of experience.

CME component includes:

• 30 hours of interactive, expert-led didactic modules delivered virtually
• 10 hours of in-person application activities, including journal clubs, culinary medicine experiences and wellness workshops

American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) certification and recognition

Graduates who complete all requirements of the experiential pathway receive a certificate of advanced training in Lifestyle Medicine jointly issued by ABLM and IBLM and are considered DipABLM or DipIBLM, Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physicians.

Interested in learning more?

Any trainee, staff or faculty interested in learning more about lifestyle medicine is encouraged to complete this Lifestyle Medicine Interest Form

If you have questions, please contact Glenn Westphal at Glenn.Westphal@osumc.edu or Alison Mackinlay at Alison.Mackinlay@osumc.edu. Please include “LMRC Interest” in the subject line.

Medical students interested in a lifestyle medicine elective during their Part 3 year can schedule the elective through VITALS or contact the Part 3 program manager.

Learn more about LMRC Frequently Asked Questions.