[1] The goal of LM is to improve individuals' health and wellbeing by applying the 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine (nutrition, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connection) to prevent chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity.

The task of the LM practitioner is to motivate and support healthy behavior changes through evidence-based approaches to prevent and manage chronic conditions.

LM practitioners are encouraged to adopt counseling methods such as motivational interviewing (MI) to identify patient readiness to change and provide stage appropriate lifestyle interventions.

The first level involves recognition by all healthcare professionals that lifestyle choices determine health status and are important modifiers of the response to pharmaceutical and/or surgical treatments.

LM is uniquely suited to interprofessional education in which students from two or more healthcare professions learn together during professional training with the objective of cultivating collaborative practice of patient-centered care.

[15][16][17][18] Physicians and other healthcare providers should feel comfortable talking with their patient about behavioral lifestyle changes and assessing needs in determinants of health.

[19][20][21][22][23] The Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance (LMGA) is an organization that connects LM professionals from nations around the world to collaborate, share resources, and create solutions to preventing and reversing non-communicable and chronic diseases.