Wilmington Health Lifestyle and Obesity Medicine is a game-changer for many


Women staying in shape by walking

What if you could write a new reality for your health, with help from experts?

You can, with the Wilmington Health Lifestyle and Obesity Medicine Clinic. This department examines various areas of lifestyle with the goal of achieving balance and optimal health.

What is lifestyle medicine?

Lifestyle medicine focuses on daily habits that impact health, and optimizing these to prevent and treat chronic conditions. It involves six pillars prescribed to treat and even reverse adverse conditions:

  1. A whole-food, plant-predominant eating routine
  2. Avoidance of risky substances
  3. Physical activity
  4. Positive social connections
  5. Restorative sleep
  6. Stress management

Improvements can help to reduce the risk of several chronic diseases.   

Issues that can arise when these areas aren’t well-managed include:

  • Diabetes
  • Heart disease
  • High cholesterol
  • Hypertension
  • Obesity

How can lifestyle medicine help?

By concentrating on harnessing the power of everyday habits, lifestyle medicine helps patients to make positive changes that can lead to better health.

Through evidence-based coaching and recommendations, patients work toward their own personalized, health-related goals. 

For example, when patients achieve a healthy weight, other health measures can improve, including:

  • Blood pressure
  • Blood sugar
  • Cholesterol
  • Chronic inflammation, which contributes to many diseases

Who leads my journey into lifestyle health?

You do! Work with Wilmington Health’s Dr. Rhonda Mough and your primary care provider. The patient-centered coaching philosophy helps make sustained lifestyle changes easier. 

“Our daily habits can affect our health,” Dr. Mough said. “Lifestyle medicine allows you to be in the driver’s seat as the patient. You can take charge of your health by tapping into the power of your everyday habits.”

Dr. Mough is board certified in Internal Medicine and is a certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician.

How is it different from care from my primary care physician?

 In a routine visit, in-depth conversations about lifestyle aren’t always possible.  A lifestyle medicine visit focuses entirely on everyday habits and their impact on health.

“We’ll take a comprehensive look at your current health status and lifestyle,” Dr. Mough said. “We can identify some areas we can target for improvement. I’ll provide you with what the scientific evidence recommends.” 

You will be able to  set goals you consider to be attainable, with coaching and support to reach them. 

“We are a team, with you at the center,” Dr. Mough said. “The goal is better health for you.”

But what if I’ve failed with diets and other methods?

It’s not easy to try and manage weight on our own. Which diet is best? How much exercise should you get?

The advice can change, depending on the origin. Plus, diet and exercise aren’t the only contributing factors to weight. Mood, sleep, and stress levels all affect weight as well. 

For example, chronic stress can affect our lifestyle choices. Mood and weight can change because of chronic stress, which can lead to other health problems. 

“Besides weight gain, anxiety and depression are possible consequences of chronic stress,” Dr. Mough said. “Also blood pressure and blood sugar can be affected. It’s important to look at the whole picture, and not just one area.”

What patients say about lifestyle medicine

The credibility is in the people whose lives have been impacted.. Some Wilmington Health patients chime in:

“The virtual visit option is wonderful. It helps me attend every appointment in the comfort of my home and it still feels very personal.”

-Crystal S.

“Dr. Mough looks for answers for what got us to this point. This is a lifestyle upgrade. My A1C has dropped almost 2 points, and I’ve lost a total of 25 pounds. You’re the star player, and she’s a coach that cheers you on.”

-Franklin S.

“Dr. Mough has been able to help me understand what nutrition is about. She has taught me that nutrition is not so much a restriction, but is more of a benefit. I have already started seeing success. I don’t like taking medications. And these plans will help me decrease my need for some medications going forward.”

-Harry E.

Ready to get your lifestyle back in balance?

Major modifications aren’t always necessary. Modest weight loss can improve:

  • Arthritis pain
  • Blood pressure
  • Blood sugar 
  • Energy and quality of life

“I’m here to meet you where you are,” Dr. Mough said. “I’ll help you set goals and provide you with the tools you need to succeed.”

Learn more about Wilmington Health Lifestyle and Obesity Medicine Clinic today.