 CPAN Director Timothy Lohman, PhD, researchers and study participants celebrated the center's establishment at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre in April. |
The Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition (CPAN), a collaboration between the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine and Agriculture and Life Sciences, celebrated its establishment with a reception and program on Thursday, April 8, at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre on the UA Main Campus. The center is dedicated to improving the quality of life and longevity of people and communities in Arizona and the United States through physical activity and nutrition research, education and services. "Physical inactivity and unhealthy nutritional practices are root causes of chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and some forms of cancer," says CPAN Director Timothy G. Lohman, PhD, UA professor of physiology and public health. "The consequences - poor health, increasing disability, loss of independence, poor quality of life and premature death - are severe. The cost - in pain, suffering and medical expenditures - both in Arizona and across the nation, is staggering, reaching $117 billion dollars and causing 400,000 deaths in the United States annually. The good news is that healthy physical activity and nutritional practices can help reverse these trends." |
CPAN evolved from several National Institutes of Health research grants over the past 20 years that funded UA studies of the effects of physical activity and nutrition on body composition and health. Follow-up studies over two to eight years showed that healthy physical activity and nutrition practices had specific beneficial long-term effects on disease prevention.
"CPAN will provide state-of-the-art exercise and nutrition research and education programs and will develop facilities to foster future cutting-edge research on the impact of physical activity and nutrition on health and wellbeing," says Dr. Lohman. "By bringing together scientists, educators, health care professionals and community leaders, CPAN will lead the way in advancing the understanding of the long-term effects of physical activity and proper nutrition on health promotion and disease prevention, and will translate new discoveries into individual and community programs."
CPAN team members already have developed and implemented several innovative programs that promote healthy long-term physical activity and nutrition practices. Among them are Tucson Challenge, a community-based physical activity and weight-loss project, and Bone, Estrogen, Strength Training (BEST), a six-year study focused on bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. Recruitment is under way for the latest CPAN program, the Strength Training and Remicade Study, which assesses a four-month supervised, individualized, strength-training exercise program in men and women with rheumatoid arthritis who are taking Remicade.
For more information, visit www.ahsc.arizona.edu/opa/news/apr04/cpan.htm
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