130: Dr Karen Malone – GP With A Passion For Lifestyle Changes

Dr Karen Malone

 Dr Karen Malone is a GP in Southampton. She has worked as a GP for 13 years.

She has a passion for Lifestyle Medicine and LCH. She aims to support patients to make a difference to their life and health without the need to always take medication. 

She believes that lifestyle comes first and medicine second. She believes that we need to promote healthy living at every opportunity. 

She is concerned about the diabesity pandemic and population health, particularly in areas of deprivation. She is also frustrated by those who are still sticking by the mantra of calories in, calories out.

She herself generally sticks to LCHF way of eating where she can.

She likes to run and exercise regularly.

She believes in creating a healthy work environment though not always met with positive reactions.

Who was THE ONE?

Prof Tim Noakes

Dr David Unwin

Dr Karen’s Top Tips

Set realistic goals and be specific.
Eat when you are hungry and until you are full.
Eat real food.

 

Resources Mentioned

British Society of Lifestyle Medicine

LouWalker – Rethinking ‘let them eat cake’ at work

Fork In the Road – Dr Jen Unwin

Real Food Runners

Real Food Runners Facebook Group

 

Quotes by Dr Karen Malone

“Our patients that are under diabetes care and they are given completely conflicting information from what we are telling them and then patients just don’t know which way to turn.”

“I think we need to look at prevention and reversibility.”

“The data is really quite astounding, so globally it is estimated that 537,000,000 patients have diabetes.”

“When patients develop hypertension or Type 2 Diabetes, it is almost seen that this is now a lifelong chronic disease and it doesn’t have to be.”

“There are so many opportunities to support patients to make lifestyle changes.”

“Did you know that dietary change can maybe help with your mental health?”

“You are giving them generic advice, which actually for the most part was wrong.”

“We’ve changed all our chronic disease appointments to half an hour now.”

“So many times in meetings, I find myself interrupting and saying “Why are we just doing it this way, why are we not thinking about diet and the impact?””

“I can’t help myself, I am just so passionate about it that I want to make a difference.”

“I’ve got patients in their 40s and 50s saying “Ohh it is just a sign of getting old”. When did this become the norm that you have to have your aches and pains or that you have put on weight or you are starting to get high blood pressure. When did that become acceptable in your 40s and 50s?.”

“It is so important that as medics and clinicians that we say “It doesn’t actually have to be this way.””

“I’m very much a lifestyle first, medicine second.”

“Now I just see it as eating for health so it is a different mindset.”

“I think it is really important to create a healthy work environment.”

“I think we do also have this issue where obesity has become the norm.”