Did you know our health is actually more strongly influenced by our peers and social networks than genetics?
That’s a big deal. Think about the people and environment you surround yourself with—are they in line with your goals? Maybe you’ve been struggling to make a change and you’re lacking the support you need to succeed.
The places we live, work, and play and the people we interact with are called social determinants of health, and they can impact everything from activity level, diet, and weight to how long we live.
When we join up with others who have the same values, struggles, and goals some really amazing things can happen. One of my favorite examples is Saddleback Church, where The Daniel Plan helped 15,000 people collectively lose a quarter of a million pounds in a year by supporting each other in eating real food, getting active, and making healthier lifestyle choices.
Group-based healthcare solutions like this are starting to gain more traction, and for so many good reasons. We’re designed to connect and lean on other humans—which is why social isolation leads to more hospitalizations and even an increased risk of death. Not only does being part of a group help people achieve their health goals, having a sense of community with strong relationships is linked to living longer, being happier, and staying psychologically and physically fit.
I see the power of community in action time and time again in the Functioning for Life Program at Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, where we use a group treatment model for people with similar health issues to create long-lasting benefits.
If you’re interested to learn more about approaching health with a group effort, I recently sat down with James Maskell and Tawny Jones to take a deep dive into this topic on The Doctor’s Farmacy.
James has spent the past decade innovating at the cross-section of Functional Medicine and community and created the Functional Forum, the world’s largest Functional Medicine conference with record-setting participation. Tawny leads clinical operations at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and the Functioning for Life shared medical program for chronic disease management is her creation.
Throughout our talk, we get into the retention rate, profitability and health outcomes of group programs, how to scale this model across the healthcare system, an amazing patient success story, and so much more.
With the help of each other we can feel our best; tune in to learn how.