Symposium Addresses Healthy Aging
If we live long enough, our cognitive and physical functions will decline. We can't stop the process of aging, but we can
optimize our aging experiences to maintain maximum levels of health. This is "successful aging," according to Dr. Wendy Kohrt
of the University of Colorado, where she directs Research for Geriatric Medicine and the IMAGE research group (Investigations
in Metabolism, Aging, Gender, and Exercise). Dr. Kohrt was a keynote speaker at the 5th Annual Symposium of the Center on Health,
Aging, and Disability, entitled "Strategies for Healthy Aging." The symposium was held on October 13 at the I-Hotel.
Chancellor Phyllis Wise, whose research examines the effect of hormones on brains during development, adulthood, and aging,
applauded the convergence of university, community, and practitioners within the audience, and stressed the importance of both
fundamental and translational research in developing new interventions to preserve and advance health.
Dr. Kohrt joined fellow keynote speaker Dr. Arthur Kramer, professor of psychology and director of the Biomedical Imaging
Center in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, in discussing factors related to the maintenance and
enhancement of physical and cognitive health as we age.
There are inevitable factors in aging, Dr. Kohrt said—decreases in maximal heart rate and the capacity to burn calories,
loss of reading vision and muscle/bone mass, and such hormonal changes as decreased estrogen and testosterone. A decrease in our
ability to engage in vigorous physical activity also can be expected as we age, but this doesn't mean we should throw in the physical
activity towel. "There is strong evidence that physical activity lowers the risk for early death, coronary heart disease, stroke, and
depression," she said. "Physical activity is far more important to successful aging than any pharmacological therapy." Even previously
sedentary people derive great benefit from starting a program of exercise, including both endurance, or aerobic, activity and
resistance activities such as weightlifting and rowing. "The more you do, the greater the benefit," said Dr. Kohrt, "and it is never
too late to start."
Focusing on the preservation of cognitive function, Dr. Kramer pointed to two "cognition killers," as he called them—insomnia
and stress. Physical activity and exercise can positively impact both, and along with social interaction, are neuroprotective. "Walking,
for example, increases brain activity and improves executive function—planning, working memory, problem solving and so on. This
can be of great benefit to people with Alzheimer's disease, as can intellectual engagement," he said. Multimodal interventions, then,
may be more effective than a singular approach. The challenge, Dr. Kramer said, is to determine the ideal combination of exercise,
intellectual engagement, social activities, and diet.
In addition to the keynote speeches, the symposium included a panel presentation of research related to tinnitus and chronic
kidney disease, as well as a discussion of the chronic disease management program called Live Well, Be Well. Participants in the
panel included Dr. Fatima Husain of the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Dr. Kenneth Wilund of the Department of Kinesiology
and Community Health, and Chelsea Byers, an adult life and aging educator with University of Illinois Extension.
View the dedication photo gallery.