Rippe Lifestyle Institute: Establishing the Academic Basis for Lifestyle Medicine

Abstract

The Rippe Lifestyle Institute (RLI) is an organization focused on providing high-level academic research and evidence in the area of lifestyle medicine. This vision has been accomplished through research, clinical services (notably an Executive Health Program), and publishing, which is a classical approach typically found in academic medical centers. Intertwining these three strands of work, lifestyle medicine services have been provided to thousands of patients and research subjects. Over the past 25 years, over 500 academic papers and abstracts have been published, largely in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, and weight management. Rippe Lifestyle Institute clinicians have published 53 books, of which 35 were for healthcare professionals and 18 for the general public. The RLI team also edits major academic textbooks in lifestyle medicine and the only peer-reviewed academic medical journal of lifestyle medicine. For over 25 years, the RLI philosophy is that lifestyle medicine is critically important to the future of medicine and healthcare in the United States. Furthermore, in order for lifestyle medicine to take its rightful place as an important component of modern healthcare, it needs to be based on solid, scientific evidence.