Your body, your choice. According to Michael Vallis, it’s what more doctors should be telling their patients.

“Too many people go to the doctor and say, ‘I’m sorry’. I’m sorry I haven’t been taking my medication the way I should. I’m sorry I haven’t been exercising or eating right. Sometimes patients feel so guilty they actually lie about their health; only half of people with diabetes actually take their medication as prescribed.

“Why apologise? It’s your body; it’s your life and your choices.”

It’s a message the Canadian health psychologist shared with Bermuda this month. King Edward VII Memorial Hospital’s DREAM Centre brought him here to discuss his work with The Behaviour Change Institute, an organisation he founded in Halifax in 2007.

Through it, he trains healthcare providers to promote behaviour change.

“The role of the healthcare provider should be to understand your behaviour and help you develop the tools and confidence to change,” the 61-year-old said. “No judgment is needed.

“Too often, busy doctors make standard recommendations that don’t really suit the patient.”

A 5am run might work for some, but maybe not for a sleep-deprived parent, for example.

“Doctors are often very busy and don’t have a lot of time to spend with each patient,” he said. “We talk about how to communicate in a way that draws out individuals’ reasons to change, and overcome barriers to change.

“One of my physician colleagues likes to say, ‘It’s not about finding the time you think you need; it’s using the time you have’.”

Dr Vallis made a lifelong vow to take care of his health at 27, after his 57-year-old father died suddenly, from a pulmonary embolism.

“I was sure I had a genetic susceptibility to lifestyle-related illnesses,” he said. “I made a commitment to myself.”

He took up running to keep fit and made healthy choices a way of life.

As far as patients, what ultimately works is collaboration and empowerment.

“Someone may see something on television that implies that people who don’t exercise are lazy,” he said. “They may be motivated to go out and exercise for a time, but then they stop.

“But when you talk with a patient you find they would like to be less winded so they can play with their kids for longer. That’s the sort of thing that inspires a long-lasting commitment, because the motivation comes from within.

“Someone might say, ‘I don’t have time to exercise’. It’s then that we sit down and ask them, ‘Can you afford not to? Are you willing to accept consequences like blindness if you don’t get your diabetes under control?”

He said the good news is that even small changes can produce large health benefits.

“Health behaviour change is one of the most important ways of improving your health and quality of life,” he said.

• For more information see www.behaviourchangeinstitute.ca