A good look at good health
Dr John Briffa is a medical doctor, keynote speaker, author, and high-performance coach with more than 30 years of experience as a trusted advisor to organisations globally. He provides evidence-based, actionable advice for lasting improvements in wellbeing, performance, and resilience, giving individuals, teams and organisations the tools for overcoming fatigue and burnout to achieve sustainable high performance.
He is a prize-winning, honours graduate of University College London School of Medicine, where he also gained a BSc degree in Biomedical Sciences. Dr Briffa has treated more than 25,000 individuals using lifestyle-oriented and naturally-oriented approaches, and has advised more than 8,000 business executives.
Dr Briffa is a former columnist for the Daily Mail and the Observer, and former contributing editor for Men's Health magazine. He has contributed to over 50 newspaper and magazine titles internationally, has contributed more than 800 articles to the mainstream press, and is a previous recipient of the Health Journalist of the Year award in the UK.
Author of ten books — including The Performance Prescription: The Science of Sustainable Success (2026) — Dr Briffa combines scientific rigour with a human touch, and is renowned for the lasting, positive impact he has on audiences at all levels of business. He has delivered keynotes, masterclasses, workshops and coaching across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America.
The Four Fundamentals
To address fatigue, presenteeism and burnout holistically, Dr Briffa developed his proprietary “Four Fundamentals” framework — the skills for optimal wellbeing, performance, resilience and sustainability:
Emotional Regulation
How to master your emotions, stay sharp under stress, and perform under pressure.
Energy
Practical guidance on nutrition, exercise, sleep and breathing for all-day endurance and effectiveness.
Environmental Design
Science-backed ways to engineer your workspace for greater wellbeing, focus, and output.
Execution
Battle-tested strategies for decluttering the mind, working efficiently, and boosting productivity.
Qualifications & clinical positions
- BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences — University College London (Department of Zoology) · 1987
- MB BS (Lond) — University College London School of Medicine · 1990
- Practitioner of Integrated Medicine — Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, London, UK
- Practitioner of Integrated Medicine — Highgate Hospital, London, UK
- GMC registration number — 3479883
Prizes and awards
- Tatler magazine — listed as one of the UK's top private doctors · 2006 and 2005
- The London Paper — listed as one of London's wellness gurus · 2006
- UK Health Journalist of the Year · 1998
- Leopold Hudson prize in Surgery — UCL Medical School · 1990
- University of London merit award in Surgery · 1990
- UCL Medical School prize — for contributions to extra-curricular activities · 1990
Talks, workshops & health programmes
For the last 18 years Dr Briffa has regularly delivered talks, workshops and health programmes geared towards the optimisation of energy, effectiveness and sustainability in individuals within organisations. Clients include:
“Dr Briffa delivered an outstanding session to a senior team of over 150 IBM management consultants… his session was the most popular session of the day.”
Andi Britt, Partner — IBM Global Business Services“Dr Briffa spoke at our conference in Berlin and… kept a mixed and demanding audience of around 120 people totally engaged… our delegates walked away buzzing with new ideas.”
David Adams, Global Head of Finance & Capital Markets — Clifford Chance“Dr John Briffa is a total one-off… He scores right at the top on speaker feedback, and senior businessmen act on and benefit from his advice long after hearing him.”
Matthew Gwyther, Editor — Management TodayPrint journalism & broadcasting
Print: Publications Dr Briffa has contributed to include Observer magazine, Observer Food Monthly, Daily Mail, The Times, You magazine, Men's Health, Reader's Digest, The Telegraph, The Sun, Healthy, Let's Live, Health Issues, Healthy Eating magazine, Holland and Barrett magazine, Tennis World, Golf World, Sunday Telegraph (Aus) and many South African titles including Pretoria News, Sunday Times (SA) and Shape Magazine (SA) — over 50 titles in all.
Radio: Contributions include The Today Programme, You and Yours, The Food Programme and Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4), Radio 5 Live, LBC, and BBC regional stations across the UK.
Television: Appearances include ITN News Channel (former regular contributor), Channel 4 News, ITV News, Channel 5 News, BBC Good Food Live, Full-On Food (BBC1), This Morning (ITV), GMTV, Children's Health (Discovery Channel) and ABC News (USA).
Author of ten books
From Food for Health (1998) and Ultimate Health (2002) to Waist Disposal (2010), Escape the Diet Trap (2012), A Great Day at the Office (2014) and The Performance Prescription (2026) — full details, chapter highlights and links are on the Books page.