Last updated: July 2026. This library will continue to be updated over the course of 2026 and beyond. Current content to date includes ~1500 papers, most of which are systematic reviews and meta-analyses from 2016-present, along with intervention studies published in 2026. Intervention studies from previous years will be added continually.

What is included in the LM Evidence Repository?

The following inclusion/exclusion criteria define what is included in the LM Evidence Repository. While we recognize the value of observational cohort studies and various other study designs in building the evidence base, the volume of evidence published on all six pillars across all study designs is vast.

We have chosen to focus the contents of the repository on recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which provide the big picture of current thinking in the field about a particular topic and are considered non-biased research results, as well as interventions which hold obvious relevance for clinical practice.

We have also chosen to limit interventions to those which incorporate more than one pillar as part of the intervention – because ideally lifestyle medicine treatment is multi-modal, not siloed as a “diet intervention” or “physical activity intervention” alone.

Read below for specific criteria, and click here to view the Search Strategy page.

Inclusion Criteria

• Systematic and umbrella reviews, meta-analyses, interventions and intervention trials (including single arm interventions, nonrandomized interventions, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
• Content must have relevance to LM medical practice/treatment
• Subjects are humans
• Published in English
• Published in 2015 or later
• Must present results assessing outcomes (see list below) following lifestyle intervention or exposure, or healthcare effectiveness of LM
• Abstract must mention lifestyle term or one of the 6 pillars (diet/nutrition, physical activity/exercise, sleep, stress/mental health, connectedness, avoidance of risky substances)
  • Shared medical appointments (SMAs) and health coaching can be considered lifestyle terms/consistent with LM (unless something in the abstract/paper explicitly suggests otherwise)
• If a diet/nutrition paper, then dietary patterns are consistent with LM
  • Including any form of plant-based/plant-predominant diets
  • Including Mediterranean, calorie restriction, fasting modalities, weight loss (unless they mention something excluded such as low carb)
• Specific included outcomes were categorized within the following list of outcome groups:
  • Health metrics
  • Quality of life
  • Adherence to treatment (includes attendance/engagement); patient engagement
  • Acceptability
  • Healthcare worker well-being
  • Healthcare worker perception of/reactions to/use of treatment or clinical practice
  • Feasibility of implementation/implementation outcomes
  • Economic impact (cost) of LM/lifestyle behaviors/interventions
  • Environmental outcomes of LM/lifestyle behaviors/interventions
  • Comparison of delivery methods of LM interventions/technology
  • Medical training/education
  • Attitudes towards lifestyle change/lifestyle medicine
  • Health equity, added Jan 2026
  • Quintuple aim, added Jan 2026

Additional Inclusion Criteria Specific to Study Design

Exclusion Criteria

• Study design that is not systematic review, umbrella review, meta-analysis, trial/RCT, or other intervention (including clinical and single arm interventions)
  • Excluded are letters, commentaries, and reports
  • Excluded are narrative/narrative synthesis, systematic narrative review, realist review, bibliographic analysis, scoping review
  • Excluded are observational cohort studies, case control studies, case control studies, cross-sectional studies, case reports/series, and other observational designs
  • Excluded are animal studies and in vitro studies
• Does not mention lifestyle or one of the pillars in any way in the abstract (diet/nutrition, physical activity/exercise, sleep, social connection, avoidance of risky substances, and stress)
• Lifestyle behaviors/pillars are assessed as an outcome but not an exposure or intervention of interest, or the effect of lifestyle cannot be isolated from other factors in the study
• Lifestyle intervention is inconsistent with one or more to 6 pillars of LM, such as single nutrient or food supplements rather than a dietary pattern, or low-carb diets and related iterations of low-carb diets such as Paleo, Keto in dietary papers
• Evaluation of measurement tools or devices
• Physical therapy isolated to one or several body parts without affecting overall cardiometabolic health
• Cognitive behavioral therapy as the isolated exposure (this is not considered an LM intervention)
• Studies in which lifestyle change or health outcomes are specifically relevant to the Covid-19 pandemic
• Setting is in Covid lockdown/quarantine
• Program descriptions and program development (such as papers that only describe interventions/programs but don’t present any assessment of results/outcomes)
• Studies in which the text defines the intervention/exposure as “complementary alternative medicine (CAM),” “functional medicine,” or “integrative medicine.”  Also, papers looking at those fields with lifestyle when we cannot isolate the lifestyle medicine component.
• Genetic studies in which the effect of lifestyle cannot be isolated
• Analyses simulating the effects of lifestyle intervention/changes on outcomes EXCEPT for cost/economic outcomes.  We will include cost/economic simulations because that is an important outcome of interest and those are often done as modeling/simulations.