ELMS 2026 in Split: Can Chronic Diseases Be Reversed?
Can chronic diseases be reversed? Can a physician prescribe walking, community and changes in everyday habits? In Split, on 9 and 10 May 2026 around 60 participants and representatives of national lifestyle medicine organisations from different European countries gathered to discuss these questions.
The European Lifestyle Medicine Council (ELMC) and the Croatian Lifestyle Medicine Association (HUMŽiS / CROLMA) jointly organised the European Lifestyle Medicine Symposium (ELMS) at the University of Split School of Medicine, held in English under the working title “Bridging the Health Gap”.
Opening of ELMS 2026
ELMS opened with introductory remarks from Dr Ivana Kolčić, Dr Rob Lawson and Dr Fraser Quin.
Prevention and reversibility of noncommunicable disease
The first group of talks focused on evidence around the prevention and potential reversibility or remission of chronic noncommunicable diseases.
Associate Professors Ivana Kraljević and Anela Novak discussed the challenges of deprescribing medication in chronic disease. They noted that medical education teaches future physicians how to prescribe medicines much more systematically than how to reduce treatment when a patient's clinical situation changes after a successful lifestyle intervention. They also highlighted the time constraints physicians face in practice. Deprescribing needs to be explained clearly so that patients understand and can participate actively in the process.
Professor Carlos Van Mieghem, an interventional cardiologist, described approaches to slowing the progression of cardiovascular disease in a medically supervised and safe way, using examples from his own practice.
Stress, sleep and the gut-brain axis
Professor Jelena Cvejić spoke about the gut-brain axis and its relevance to stress resilience. She discussed the role of a Mediterranean dietary pattern, adequate rest, relaxation and social connection in supporting health.
A psychologist from Poland and certified CBT-I therapist, Magdalena Komsta gave a lively presentation on cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. She emphasised the importance of well-structured daytime activity. For people with insomnia, spending longer in bed trying to force sleep is not the goal. Instead, CBT-I uses structured behavioural approaches, including appropriate daytime activity and reducing behaviours that interfere with sleep. She also discussed nutrition as one of several lifestyle factors that can support sleep health.
Lifestyle medicine tools
The second group of talks began with Dr John Schoonbee from a Swiss insurance company. He described how life insurers are increasingly interested in the health effects of lifestyle. He used ketogenic diets as one example of an eating pattern that may reduce large postprandial glucose excursions. During the discussion, panellists noted that ketogenic diets are not appropriate for everyone and favoured the Mediterranean dietary pattern as a more sustainable long-term option for many people.
Dr Mattijs Out discussed evidence that type 2 diabetes does not always have to be lifelong and that remission can be achieved in some people through intensive lifestyle and weight-management interventions.[1] Dr Camille Hirons spoke about social prescribing. This approach can be used with people who are socially isolated, lonely or otherwise disconnected from community support. She showed a film illustrating how relationships and shared activities can affect wellbeing.
Drivers of health
The third section focused on drivers of health and health policy. From HEAL, Genon Jensen spoke about physician advocacy for European policy addressing environmental determinants of health. Dr Roberta Alessandrini from PAN, Physicians Association for Nutrition, discussed how physicians can support healthier and more sustainable food environments through European policy.
Dr Sigrid Berge van Rooijen described ways artificial intelligence and digital tools may support lifestyle change, including monitoring selected health parameters through smartwatches and other connected devices. Such applications can be used at home or in workplace settings.
At the end of the first day, Dr Alicja Baska and Dr Rob Lawson joined other speakers in a panel discussion on lifestyle medicine in Europe. The discussion covered both challenges and opportunities, including ways to improve quality of life. Participants from the audience also joined in. Similar challenges were recognised across European countries, including limited formal education for physicians, time constraints in clinical practice and the need to involve professionals from other disciplines more systematically . Professionals such as kinesiologists, nutritionists and psychologists may also need additional structured education that is oriented towards current health challenges and family and community contexts. At the same time, wider supportive infrastructure is needed. Social and workplace environments should make healthy choices easier. Regular physical activity, a Mediterranean dietary pattern, strong social connections, time in nature and restorative sleep were highlighted as important elements.
Workshops
On the second day, before the symposium programme, a small group of us joined Dr Maks Luka Šenjug for a morning walk to Žnjan, followed by light exercise on the beach. The rest of the day was devoted to five workshops. I will highlight the two I attended.
The first was led by Dr Tanja Dragun in a workshop entitled “Reversing T2DM: How to Implement LM Intervention”. The task was to design a lifestyle medicine intervention for people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes who needed support to lose around 10% of body weight. The challenge was to make physical activity feasible without requiring substantial financial resources. The intervention combined structured exercise, nutrition education and psychological support. Exercise included regular aerobic activity and strength training twice a week using household objects and bodyweight exercises. Nutrition education focused on helping patients make practical choices about foods to eat more often and foods to limit. The psychological component was recognised as particularly complex, covering emotional eating, new skills, time and stress management, attitudes towards food, recipes, family involvement, workplace challenges, social context, goal setting, motivation, night eating and celebrations.
The second workshop was led by Prof Anamarija Jurčev Savičević and Prof Zlatka Knezović in a session entitled “Extra Virgin Olive Oil Sensory Testing: Could You Be a Sommelier?”. We learned about the characteristics of high-quality extra virgin olive oil and how demanding formal sensory assessment can be. In an eight-member tasting panel, individual assessments must remain within a defined level of agreement.
The symposium concluded with awards for the best poster. Each poster was accompanied by a short oral presentation. ELMS was well organised, with plenty of discussion and opportunities to connect.
CROLMA was a co-organiser of ELMS 2026. Follow our work at crolma.net, on Instagram (@medicinazivotnogstila), Facebook and our YouTube channel @crolma.
About the author
Zrinka Kruhonja Galić, MD, PhD, heads the Department of Red Cell Diagnostics at the Croatian Institute of Transfusion Medicine. She is a member of CROLMA and has an active interest in the application of lifestyle medicine principles in the prevention and treatment of chronic noncommunicable disease.
Edited by Maks Luka Šenjug, MD, paediatric resident and CROLMA Board member
