Chapter 19 – Health and the Environment: Clinical Implications for Lifestyle Medicine

The term “Lifestyle Medicine” implies individual responsibility for chronic disease causality. However, this can inadvertently deflect criticism from systemic causes, such as exist in various environments, and result in “victim blaming,” making resolution even more difficult. Environmental “anthropogens” driving behaviors thus need to be understood and managed, where possible. Both micro- and macroenvironments can be broken down into four main types (physical, economic, sociocultural, and political), some of which have implications for clinical practice.