The art of articulating science: Dr David Katz and Dr Catherine Katz down under

Love the food that loves you back!

‘In conversation with Dr David Katz and Dr Catherine Katz’, was a unique event held on Friday 18 October 2019 in a boutique venue overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont. The evening brought together an intimate group of colleagues from around the world; from academics and researchers, to clinicians, allied health practitioners, public health professionals, culinary creators, and everyone in between.

Following some pre-dinner conversation and networking, Dr Joanna McMillan, Australia’s favourite and best-known nutrition scientist and Lifestyle Medicine specialist, sat down with Dr David Katz and Dr Catherine Katz for a candid, personal and unscripted interview. This was a really beautiful opportunity to hear their views on food and medicine, public health, politics, sustainability and of course, life and love.

Amongst other things, David spoke about the ways in which he utilises art to express and articulate science, and he and Catherine shared how this has fed into the way they balance their love of wholesome food with an understanding of nutritional science. The take home? If you create meals that you love, using good quality, whole foods, the nutrition will take care of itself.

The principles of Lifestyle Medicine translate flawlessly to the worksite. It is a well established fact that working is central to human psychosocial wellbeing4 and being employed is associated with improved mental health and reduced socio-economic deprivation5.

Our thanks goes out to David, Catherine, Joanna and all of those in attendance who contributed to the creation of such an inspiring and memorable evening.

“The clinical remedy to a cultural problem will never be much more than a bandaid” – Dr David Katz

Following an inspiring keynote to end the ANZOS-ASLM-ICCR 2019 conference, Dr David Katz joined us again for a one-time-only CPD masterclass, “Spark a new romance or deepen your love affair with Lifestyle Medicine“, on Saturday 19 October 2019.

The masterclass brought together an extraordinary line-up of Lifestyle Medicine leaders, and was designed to provide attendees with foundation knowledge of Lifestyle Medicine through an exploration of the key domains, determinants of chronic disease, and key processes required for Lifestyle Medicine application in clinical practice. It was a day for professionals and practitioners to gain real-world practical tools and skills, with topics including:

  • Introduction to ASLM and Lifestyle Medicine
  • A fresh look at the determinants of chronic disease
  • Diet as a Vital Sign – the central role of nutrition in Lifestyle Medicine
  • Nutrition and physical activity assessment & prescription
  • Promoting emotional wellbeing and mental health
  • Facilitating health behaviour change in clinical practice
  • Diet wars: the evidence, the approaches and common sense

A much talked about part of the day saw Dr David Katz join Dr Joanna McMillan for the final session on ‘diet wars’. For two hours without a break, two of the worlds most recognised names in nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine captured the undivided attention of the audience with a much-needed candid and common sense discussion of many of the most talked about dietary patterns, ranging from low carb and low fat, to mediterranean, paleo, vegan and more.

A special thanks to Shivaun Conn and Dr Simon Rosenbaum for their engaging session which saw attendees explore practical tools on behaviour change approaches and exercise prescription, and to Dr Kate Marsh and Simon Matthews for their informative breakdown on Nutritional assessment and prescription and promoting and supporting emotional wellbeing and resilience.

And of course to Prof Garry Egger, one of the world’s pioneers of Lifestyle Medicine, and Dr Sam Manger, ASLM’s President, for setting the scene at the start of the day!

What a rare and special opportunity for participants to engage with some of the luminaries of Lifestyle Medicine!

 

Psst… these sessions were recorded! Keep an eye out for the release announcement soon and watch it all for yourself, straight from the experts.

Lifestyle Medicine provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, whole-system approach to the prevention and reversal of chronic and lifestyle-related diseases through the modification of behavioural, social and environmental drivers. If you support this approach to healthcare, help us advance its impact by joining the movement.