Published: 06 July 2023
St George’s Biomedical Science alumnus, Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi, has recently won the Clare Boothroyd Award - which celebrates those who have made an outstanding contribution to primary care - in recognition of his contributions to lifestyle medicine and wellbeing.
A lifestyle medic and long-distance triathlete who represented Team GB at the World Triathlon Championships this year, Hussain is passionate about using lifestyle to tackle health inequalities. He has a varied portfolio career across different sectors, including as the Royal College of GPs lifestyle & physical activity lead, and has a regular slot on the Channel 4 show Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Hussain runs a pioneering NHS-based fitness club and lifestyle clinic which helps educate and support patients to eat better, move more and connect with their community, as well as the social prescribing team at the Leamington primary care network, which assists people holistically to promote, protect and improve their health.
We spoke to him about how it felt to receive the award, and how his own health and wellbeing journey has inspired his career.
“Receiving this sort of recognition helps keep me motivated and gives me the drive to keep pushing boundaries.”
- Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi -
“It was a real honour to win the Clare Boothroyd Award. Dr Boothroyd worked as a GP in Leamington Spa for many years and was such a well-respected colleague. She devoted a lot of her career to supporting fellow GPs as well as patients in a compassionate and holistic way, and being a fellow GP working in Leamington made winning the award even more meaningful.
“Winning awards like this help to recognise the hard work I have put into campaigning and delivering lifestyle support for patients and staff. Receiving this sort of recognition helps keep me motivated and gives me the drive to keep pushing boundaries. I strongly believe that we should constantly be in a state of development, and apply that belief to my work and my personal health.
“I try to use my own personal journey of taking up physical activity and improving my own nutrition to promote the benefits of diet and physical activity for our wellbeing.”
- Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi -
Hussain has devoted the last five years of his career to tackling the obesogenic environment (an environment that promotes gaining weight and is not conducive to weight loss), which he sees as one of today’s biggest health crises:
“Movement, community, and nutrition are three cornerstones of my personal and professional life. My NHS-based fitness club and group lifestyle clinic help educate and support patients to eat better, move more and connect with their community. I also head up the social prescribing team at the Leamington primary care network, which assists people to holistically promote, protect and improve their health.”
“Lifestyle can be such a powerful tool in the fight against many conditions, both physical and mental, while being a great way to socialise and stay connected with our community.”
As someone who previously led a sedentary lifestyle, Hussain says: “As a keen triathlete and UK Athletics leader in running fitness, I use my own personal journey of taking up physical activity and improving my own nutrition to promote the benefits of a healthy diet and physical activity to others.”
"Our health is our most valuable commodity. It is so important that we carve out time eat well, train our bodies and relax our minds."
- Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi -
“During my years as a junior doctor, I gained weight but had no idea how significant it was until an ultra-sonographer told me that I had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Later that day, I stepped onto my weighing scales that I was 24kg heavier than I had been at university. “What had happened? Well, like millions of others, the effects of an obesogenic environment had happened!”
"The world around us has dramatically changed over the last 100 years. With progress in technology, the movement that was a natural part of our day has now become optional. The foods we eat have evolved to be ultra-processed, highly palatable, calorie dense and nutrient poor.
“Working in healthcare is often stressful and all consuming. It is so important that we avoid these traps and make sure we carve out time eat well, train our bodies and relax our minds. Our health is our most valuable commodity. We need to find the time to invest in it, because if we don’t, the implications are huge.
“During my time at St George’s, I was grateful to have Dr Tony Michael as my supervisor. His mentoring left a lasting impact in two respects: Firstly, in the importance of thinking outside of the box when trying to solve problems and secondly, in his passion for movement as he regularly cycled to university. This helped me start my journey towards breaking down the barriers that prevent so many from living a lifestyle that promotes good health.”
“My aim is to allow more patients and staff the opportunity to discuss, understand and start their health journey.”
- Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi -
Speaking about his future career ambitions, Hussain says: “The last 5 years have been amazing, and I still cannot quite believe how lucky I have been to have the opportunities I’ve had.
“I want to continue to develop group lifestyle consultations in primary care. Since I launched the first one in 2020, I have supported eight more primary care networks to launch theirs. My aim is to see these grow, to allow more patients and staff the opportunity to discuss, understand and embark on their health journey.”
You can hear more from Hussain about his career path and wellbeing journey here.
Those with an interest in lifestyle medicine and well-being may wish to follow Hussain on his Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter pages.