A short interview with Associate Professor John Stevens discussing Lifestyle Medicine and shared medical appointments. *This story and video was produced with the assistance of the NSW Department of Regional NSW Regional Growth Fund
John Stevens is Co-founder and Director of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine and the Discipline Lead of the Master of Lifestyle Medicine at Southern Cross University.
Lifestyle medicine brings about improved health outcomes through addressing issues of nutrition, physical activity, stress reduction, better sleep, substance misuse management, and connection to people and Country.
Shared medical appointments are an innovative approach where a group of clients take part in shared sessions with their clinicians who are able to spend a much greater amount of time addressing health issues and impart more of the knowledge needed to bring about lifestyle changes that are needed to deal with chronic diseases.
Mullumbimby’s a busy place
Stevens says he lives in Mullumbimby but he was born in Randwick. ‘I grew up in Sydney and it wasn’t as busy as Mullum is now!’
Like a lot of successful people, Stevens failed his HSC. He wandered through his days driving trucks and had a stint in real estate.
‘I was a truck driver looking for direction – that’s not a euphemism. A good friend was in hospital for a year after a car accident. When I visited him I saw the work the nurses were doing and that was it for me.
‘Then, nursing older people, I was gobsmacked about how many were arriving to old age with so much illness and suffering, most of which was preventable.
‘I moved in to university teaching and research and focused on how to help people age better. That led me to Lifestyle Medicine.’
The joy of nursing
Stevens is pretty happy with where his truck led him. ‘I love my work. I learn something new and important from students and the communities I work with every day.
‘The work I do now literally has the potential to help the world be a better place by doing a better job caring for others, especially the most marginalised folk among us who may never have felt cared for.’
Is this who I really am?
Stevens says that at a personal level, the self-doubt that sometimes creeps in is a big challenge. ‘Who is this guy who thinks he’s going to make the world a better place? What a tosser! I eventually shut that voice down and just got on with doing it. Fighting with yourself can be so exhausting.
‘At a professional level I work to teach and show other clinicians how they can help their patients change their lifestyle to be healthier; their food, their physical activity, their stress and sleep and connection to others, and country and planet. But we are up against a system that demands that all of us over-consume everything; food, alcohol – the planet, and that creates unsustainable lifestyles.
The big problem for health
‘For example, 70 per cent of the Australian population is overweight, 30 per cent or more are obese. Being overweight puts people at risk of many long lasting chronic illnesses which often end in suffering, painful and lonely shortened lives.
‘Some people are getting rich off engineering the behaviour that leads to us to being overweight and chronically ill; either in selling us the stuff making us overweight or selling us dodgy products to fix it.
‘They don’t like what we do. They are very rich and powerful forces for communities to try and navigate. They make the changes we need to make at an individual and population level very difficult.’
Is there life beside work
With so much going on in his work life, does John have quality and quantity in his ‘spare’ time? ‘I have a beautiful, courageous wife and five outstanding kids, so spare time is mostly about them. But, I love making the most of our beaches and rivers and bush – we are so gifted to have this natural environment to play in.
‘I also do a bit of creative writing with a wonderful writing group thanks to Byron Writers fest. And I do love taking my time over a lamb roast – never claimed to be perfect.
Onwards and upwards and sideways and right now
‘Lately I have been thinking about where I am right now… everything I have done in my life, the relationships, the jobs, the journeys good or bad, traumatic or uplifting, painful or pleasurable has led me to this moment – talking to you right now – life and all of our experiences are gifts.’
John Stevens feels strongly that if we want to stay well and happy as a community, one of the things we need to do is treat getting older like an Olympic sport.
‘We have to work hard every day on eating the right amount of the best and healthiest food we can, work our bodies and minds like we are training for an event; like athletes, use your stress to motivate and excel but find strategies to avoid or manage distress, do what it takes to sleep seven to eight hours a day, avoid or minimise exposure to toxic substances – smoking and alcohol are the most likely candidates for most people – and, with love and respect, connect with each other, our beautiful community, our beautiful and diverse environment and love our planet.
‘That’s Lifestyle Medicine.’
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