Advancing Lifestyle Medicine: The Role of Precision in
Personalised Health Care
by Dr Cam McDonald
FASLM, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Accredited Exercise Physiologist
CEO of Precision Health Alliance
Lifestyle medicine has made significant strides in addressing the root causes of chronic disease. Interventions grounded in nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress reduction, and social connection are increasingly supported by robust evidence. However, even with well-established protocols, clinical variability in individual response remains a persistent challenge.
Emerging research now highlights the potential of Precision Lifestyle Medicine to enhance the effectiveness of existing interventions. By incorporating insights from genetics, phenotype, chronobiology, and behavioural science, this approach seeks to improve the predictability and consistency of outcomes in lifestyle-based care.
Moving Beyond Generalisation
While population-based guidelines provide a useful framework, they often fail to account for the substantial heterogeneity in individual responses. For instance, controlled trials of structured exercise interventions have demonstrated that approximately 15% to 40% of participants may exhibit no meaningful physiological improvement, despite adherence. In some cases, a proportion of individuals have shown paradoxical reductions in fitness or worsened glycaemic control.
Similarly, dietary interventions yield highly variable outcomes. A study investigating the effects of caloric restriction with uniform macronutrient distribution found that up to one-third of participants showed minimal or no reduction in fat mass, despite controlled intake and consistent engagement.
These findings underscore the importance of refining our models of care. While lifestyle medicine remains foundational, its application may benefit from greater individualisation informed by emerging precision-based insights.
Moving Beyond Generalisation
A 53-year-old male, working as a personal trainer, presented with increasing waist circumference (+6 cm over six months) despite engaging in high-volume training (eight hours per week, including early morning HIIT). Dietary intake was consistent with standard recommendations—frequent meals, high protein, and adequate fibre.
Through phenotype-based assessment, several key insights emerged:
- Late chronotype, with evidence suggesting reduced tolerance for early morning stressors
- Predisposition for higher cortisol reactivity in the morning, which may impair body composition changes particularly when experiencing high physiological strain in the morning (HIIT qualifies for this)
- Elevated risk of joint laxity and soft tissue injury, linked to connective tissue markers
Following an intervention that included a reduction in training volume (to three hours per week), elimination of early morning sessions, and modest dietary adjustments.
After persistent weight gain prior to the intervention, lowering volume and honouring chronobiological considerations: the client experienced a 14 kg weight reduction and 15.8 cm decrease in waist circumference over a 95-day period.
This case illustrated how alignment with circadian biology and physiological predispositions may enhance response to otherwise standard lifestyle prescriptions.
Precision in Practice: A Complement to Lifestyle Medicine
Precision Lifestyle Medicine does not replace current practice—it builds upon it. By integrating:
- Genotype-informed nutrient metabolism
- Phenotype-based training modalities
- Chronobiological timing of interventions
- Contextual behavioural tailoring
…clinicians may be better equipped to deliver interventions that are more closely aligned with each individual’s physiological profile.
Emerging AI and machine learning platforms are now capable of synthesising these complex data points into actionable insights. Preliminary studies suggest that algorithmic predictions of glycaemic responses can match, and in some cases outperform, expert dietary planning using only phenotype and behavioural data.
Precision Lifestyle Medicine represents a promising evolution in personalised care. It seeks not to reinvent, but to refine the core tenets of lifestyle medicine by incorporating deeper layers of biological and behavioural individuality.
For clinicians committed to advancing chronic disease prevention and optimising human function, precision offers a framework to increase the specificity, efficacy, and sustainability of care.
As the field continues to mature, adopting a precision lens may prove to be a valuable extension of the already powerful work you are doing.
Want to learn more about Precision Lifestyle Medicine?
Join Dr Cam McDonald for a free webinar (exclusive to ASLM Members) on Wednesday 23 July 2025 exploring how personalisation is changing the way we prevent and manage chronic disease.
Dr Cam McDonald
Dr Cam McDonald is a leader, educator, and the CEO of the Precision Health Alliance, a leading organisation focused on educating health professionals in precision health. The PHA’s mission is to eliminate chronic disease and pain by 2050, establishing “healthy” and “resilient” as the norm. Dr McDonald is an exercise physiologist, accredited practicing dietitian, PhD scholar, and a Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, and is an international authority in personalised health. He educates organisations and health professionals on how AI and precision health can help us understand the connection between our environment, physical health, and mental wellbeing. Dr Cam has shared the stage with luminaries such as the Dalai Lama and Deepak Chopra, contributing to global conversations on health, wellbeing, and human consciousness. His work with the Precision Health Alliance has provided him working knowledge of the leading technologies and possibilities for AI in health and medicine.