Wright Center: Making Healthy Living New Year’s Resolutions

The holiday season is here and in full swing, but the new year is lurking just around the corner.

For many people, that means making a new set of resolutions for 2026. There’s nothing wrong with that, as these goals often help with the pursuit of genuine self-improvement, especially when it comes to health and well-being.

Dr. Barooah, as a physician, applauds this approach. However, it’s important not to be overly ambitious at the start. Dr. Barooah’s advice: set small, manageable goals that can evolve into sustainable lifestyle changes over time. Those steady improvements are what ultimately lead to a healthier version.

With that in mind, here are a few potential health-focused resolutions to consider for the coming year:

• Improve diet by choosing more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and cutting back on red meat, sweets, and ultra-processed foods.
• Moderate alcohol consumption, as there is more information being presented about its significant long-term health impacts.
• Stay well hydrated by using water as the preferred beverage.
• Move more – through a gym membership, a running routine, or simply regular walks around the neighborhood. Whatever fits the lifestyle of the person is the right place to start. 
• Prioritize sleep, which plays a major role in overall quality of life.
• Practice self-care by resisting self-criticism, investing in therapy, enjoying hobbies, trying mindfulness or meditation, or simply carving out personal, daily time.
• Volunteer with a local organization or nonprofit – doing good for others often boosts self-happiness.
• Limit social media and screen time, freeing up precious hours for more meaningful activities.
• Make time for family and friends, because while material achievements are nice, strong personal relationships are what truly enrich people’s lives.

The Wright Center for Community Health are deeply committed to improving long-term health through their Lifestyle Medicine initiative. This approach recognizes that less desirable lifestyle choices drive most of the chronic illnesses affecting Americans.

Lifestyle medicine helps patients and their families enhance their health and quality of life through long-term behavioral changes such as eliminating tobacco use, improving diet, managing stress, increasing physical activity, strengthening personal relationships, and optimizing sleep for better, more restorative rest.

The team is trained in both conventional and lifestyle medicine, and they collaborate closely with patients to create personalized self-care plans that are realistic and sustainable. These lifestyle modifications can significantly help prevent or manage chronic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, lifestyle-associated cancers (including prostate and breast), osteoarthritis, chronic pain, chronic autoimmune diseases, and chronic psychological stress. Most importantly, it’s about the choices made in order to feel better.

There’s nothing magical about it – adopting positive daily routines naturally leads to a healthier lifestyle, a longer life, and greater happiness. So, if planning to make lifestyle improvement the driving force behind 2026 New Year’s resolutions, Dr. Barooah wholeheartedly supports the healthy living goals.

Happy holidays and happy New Year!

Jumee Barooah, M.D., FACP, is senior vice president of education and designated institutional official for The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. She is quadruple board-certified in internal medicine, addiction medicine, obesity medicine, and lifestyle medicine. To make an appointment, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.