1st Croatian Lifestyle Medicine Congress with International Participation
The Oldest Medicine in a New Form
The 1st Croatian Lifestyle Medicine Congress with International Participation was held on 3 and 4 June 2023 at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Kinesiology. The Croatian Lifestyle Medicine Association (CROLMA) and the Faculty of Kinesiology brought together Croatian and international experts under the theme “The Oldest Medicine in a New Form”.
What did the first Croatian Lifestyle Medicine Congress focus on?
Lectures, panels and discussions focused on the prevention, management and treatment of chronic noncommunicable diseases and on how lifestyle medicine could be applied within the healthcare system. The congress connected professionals from biomedicine and healthcare with colleagues from related fields, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration.
The six pillars of lifestyle medicine in practice
The programme covered healthy nutrition, physical activity, stress management, social connection, healthy sleep and avoiding addictive substances. Alongside professional talks, participants could try practical ways of bringing these areas into everyday life and patient care.
FACT / EXPERIENCE More than 150 participants took part in experiential workshops including dance, ceramics, healthy meal preparation, organised exercise and stress-management techniques. Participants could try some of the content directly in practice. |
A Croatian-authored textbook and a team-based approach
The congress also presented the Croatian-authored lifestyle medicine textbook Lifestyle Medicine: The Roadmap to Our Best Possible Health (University of Split, 2021). The English-language textbook is intended for professionals in biomedicine and related fields, and a free download link is available on the CROLMA website.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN PRACTICE? A personalised, team-based approach to patient care was central to the discussions. Collaboration between physicians, nutritionists, kinesiologists, psychologists, nurses and other health professionals creates opportunities to combine different areas of expertise and support sustainable lifestyle change. |
Perspectives from the congress
“We are extremely pleased with the response to this congress, which marks the beginning of interdisciplinary cooperation in lifestyle medicine in Croatia and a step towards integrating this field into our healthcare system,” said Anera Lazić, the first certified lifestyle medicine physician in Croatia and then President of CROLMA.
“A multisectoral approach to health promotion should begin early, be supported by the system and be included across curricula. At an individual level, the relationship with the patient is essential. The art of medicine is to approach each person individually, not to expect perfection, but to move step by step. For example, reduce salt intake first and then reassess,” said Academician Bojan Jelaković.
“From our experience at the Cleveland Clinic lifestyle medicine department, we know that patients maintain positive changes while we remain in contact with them. The problem is that they return to environments that often do not support those changes. We need new therapies and medicines, but we must not forget the foundations: what we eat, how much we sleep and how much we move,” said Prof Mladen Golubić.
“Lifestyle medicine opens a new paradigm in which health can be improved, and some chronic noncommunicable diseases can be treated through lifestyle interventions. Physicians, other health professionals, psychologists, nutritionists and kinesiologists have powerful tools available to them. These tools are focused on supporting lifestyle change, with benefits that can extend from individuals to society as a whole. The congress carries an important message: move from repeatedly describing the problem towards long-term solutions,” said CROLMA co-founder and Faculty of Kinesiology professor Igor Jukić.
About the author
Nikolina Polić, MD, is a paediatric resident and doctoral student in Evidence-Based Medicine. She is a member of the CROLMA Board and a researcher on a project focused on remission of type 2 diabetes through lifestyle change.
Related reflections and sources
Date and venue: official university congress announcement.
