Who We Are
The Sri Lankan Society of Lifestyle Medicine (SLSLM) is a community of healthcare professionals dedicated to establishing lifestyle medicine as the primary therapeutic approach for managing chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Sri Lanka. The SLSLM was established with the goal of promoting the role of lifestyle medicine in clinical practice to improve people’s health and well-being. To this end, we strive to ensure evidence-based practice in the field of lifestyle medicine while creating practice-based evidence.
The society was founded in 2019 by two medical doctors and a dentist with the vision of creating a Sri Lanka free of non-communicable diseases. We are part of a global medical alliance and have a growing membership that includes primary and secondary care clinicians, public health professionals, allied health professionals, educators, and researchers.
Our focus goes beyond the traditional role of physicians in treating NCDs and extends to the prevention, treatment, and reversal of NCDs in clinical settings through the implementation of evidence-based lifestyle medicine practices. We are an independent, non-profit organization with no religious or political affiliations. All of our work is driven by science and informed by evidence.
Over the last two years, the SLSLM has been working hand in hand with the local universities and medical professional organizations to achieve its vision, reaching significant milestones. Simultaneously, the SLSLM has been maintaining cordial relations with regional and international organizations.
Our Vision
A Sri Lanka with a transformed, sustainable healthcare system with lifestyle medicine in its foundation.
Our Mission
Sustainable transformation of healthcare system by employing evidence-based practice of lifestyle medicine through medical education, clinical practice, and clinical research in order to advance treatment and reversal of chronic noncommunicable diseases.
Our Positioning Statement
The SLSLM addresses the need for evidence-based education and practice of lifestyle medicine as the primary therapeutic modality for chronic noncommunicable diseases, and generating practice-based evidence. SLSLM advocates for sustainable transformation of healthcare in Sri Lanka with lifestyle medicine in its foundation.
Our Logo
The logo for this project was designed by Dr. Shanaka Kulathunga, an artist and physician. The design features a man in the shape of a colorful DNA helix, which represents the complex interplay between genetic and non-genetic factors that contribute to an individual’s disease risk, response to treatment, and epigenetics.
The colors of the DNA helix correspond to the Classical Elements (Four Elements) of Greek philosophy: green for Earth, blue for Water, light blue for Air, and orange and yellow for Fire. This is a tribute to Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, who is believed to have used lifestyle interventions to treat illnesses, according to medical anthropology.