LONS – Lifestyle, Occupation, Nutrition, Social

LONS stands for Lifestyle, Occupation, Nutrition and Social. Lifestyle includes the patient’s smoking, drinking, drug and exercise. Occupation is about the kind of job / business the patient does at present. Nutrition is the patient’s body-weight and diet-related while Social touches areas of the patient’s family and society life, more specifically, the patient’s wife / husband, marital status, children and address.

LONS

• Lifestyle: Smoking, drinking, drug use, etc.
• Occupations: Patient’s job details.
• Nutrition: Patient’s diet (vegetarian, vegan, etc.).
• Social: Marital status (married, widow, widower, single mother), children, habits.

LONS Paragraph is not always required.

You need to include part of / all off the LONS Paragraph if:

• The recipient has to make a home visit.
• The recipient is a social worker, psychiatrist, psychologist, etc.
• If the recipient should know one of / all of the LONS information. 

NB: You will have to specially include one of the LONS if the recipient needs it.

• Patient’s own GP: None of the LONS.
• Surgeon → Lifestyle.
• Doctor, Specialists → Occupation.
• Pulmonologist → Lifestyle.
• Dietitian, Pediatrician → Nutrition.
• Psychiatrist, Social worker → Social.

Sample Notes

Mr. Michael Reynolds – 45-year-old

• Divorced male, lives alone in New York.
• Heavy smoker (1 pack per day for 20 years).
• Drinks 2–3 beers daily, no history of recreational drug use. 
• BMI 32 (obese). 
• Consumes a high-fat diet, frequent fast food intake. 
• Works as a truck driver. 
• Sedentary lifestyle with no structured physical activity.

LONS

A truck driver and now divorced, Mr Ryenolds lives alone in New York. He has had the habit of smoking 1 packet per day for the last 20 years, and his alcohol intake is minimal. With a BMI of 32, he consumes a high-fat diet and has frequent fast food intake. It is important to note that he leads a sedentary lifestyle with no structured physical activity.

Did you notice?

• Do not include “male” because “Mr” already means “male.”
• We will not write the word “Obese” at any case.