Kuala lumpur: The 6th Malaysian Lifestyle Medicine Conference 2026 is set to convene a diverse group of leading local and international experts with the aim of bolstering lifestyle medicine's role in promoting healthy ageing and extending healthspan. This initiative is crucial as Malaysia advances towards becoming an ageing society by 2030.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the conference, organized by the Malaysian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (MSLM), will span three days from October 24 to 26 at Berjaya Times Square Hotel. Themed 'Lifestyle Medicine: The Foundation of Longevity Medicine', it will feature discussions on the latest advancements in lifestyle and longevity medicine.
MSLM founder and president, Adjunct Prof Dr Siva Poobalasingam, highlighted the necessity of shifting healthcare's focus beyond merely increasing lifespan to optimizing healthspan-years spent in good health, vitality, and independence, free from preventable chronic diseases. He noted that Malaysia is projected to become an ageing society by 2030, with 15 per cent of the population aged 60 and above. The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2025 had also found that only 14.7 per cent of older Malaysians were ageing well.
The conference will address this critical opportunity to rethink and transform healthcare approaches, particularly as lifestyle-based interventions remain effective, accessible, and cost-efficient strategies for extending healthspan. A significant highlight will be a joint symposium between MSLM and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, themed 'Leading the Future of Healthcare: Integrating Lifestyle Medicine into Health Systems'. This symposium aims to explore the integration of lifestyle medicine into healthcare systems.
Dr Javaid I. Sheikh, Dean and Professor of Psychiatry and Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, will deliver the Dean's Distinguished Lecture and participate in an expert panel discussion on lifestyle medicine as an emerging frontier in healthcare. Prof Andrea Maier, co-founder and director of NUS Academy for Healthy Longevity, will also be a prominent speaker. Recognized internationally for her expertise in healthy longevity and gerontology, Prof Maier was recently named one of TIME magazine's top 12 longevity leaders.
The conference will feature experts from various fields, including lifestyle medicine, longevity, metabolic health, psychiatry, neurology, nutrition, oncology, and primary care from leading institutions in Malaysia and abroad. Speakers will represent organizations such as the World Health Organisation, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, National University of Singapore, and Asia Pacific Longevity Medicine Society.
Topics at the scientific programme will cover a range of issues including decoding ageing, healthspan optimisation, Blue Zones, metabolic and mitochondrial health, stress, resilience, the microbiome, fasting, caloric restriction, circadian rhythm, physical activity, nutrition, social connections, smoking and alcohol, and menopause.
Furthermore, two post-conference workshops on October 26 will focus on positive health and healthy longevity, and the role of lifestyle medicine in cancer survivorship, providing healthcare professionals with practical approaches for clinical practice.
Dr Siva emphasized that the conference is envisioned not merely as an academic gathering, but as a call to healthcare professionals to redefine longevity, 'not simply as adding years to life, but as adding life to years.'
The MSLM will also host the Board Certification Examination in Lifestyle Medicine by the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine on October 27.