Life Span Institute Blog

OK, maybe physical fitness isn’t your main goal in life. But for you to reach other important goals, such as maintaining your ability to live independently, work or care for others, physical fitness can increase stamina and strength.

“Nothing about us without us” has been a slogan for disability rights advocates for more than 30 years. The phrase highlights the need for people with disabilities to be at the table when decisions about disability policy are being made. 

Karrie Shogren will present her inaugural distinguished professor lecture, “Advancing Self-Determination: Building Systems of Supports with the Disability Community,” at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 14 in the Kansas Room of the Kansas Union.

Hyperpalatability is a way of categorizing foods we might commonly call "junk food." They were first described by Tera Fazzino, assistant professor of psychology at KU and associate director of the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment at the KU Life Span Institute. We reached out her to talk about hyperpalatable foods, and what we as eaters, consumers and cooks should know about them.

"When I arrived at the KU Medical Center campus as a first-year faculty member almost 40 years ago, we existed in a small, visibly aging complex that needed a whole lot of love and support from the community to get back on its feet," said Bruce Liese, clinical director of Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment and professor of Family Medicine and Psychiatry at KU Medical Center.

An online resource based at the University of Kansas and accessed by more than 6 million people annually has expanded to offer a group of online courses focused on leadership, communication, advocacy and much more. The courses are a part of the Community Tool Box, a project of the Center for Community Health and Development.

A physical disability shouldn't mean saying goodbye to the great outdoors. Public parks are for everyone, and increased accessibility in the Sunflower State has opened opportunities for everyone to get outside.

KU Life Span Institute investigator Tera Fazzino’s research on “hyperpalatable” foods caught the attention of YouTuber Chris MacAskill, who on March 25 featured her on his Plant Chompers channel.

Following National Barrier Awareness Day on May 7, we’re calling attention to several ways people with disabilities encounter obstacles in their daily lives — and why accessibility for everyone is important.

The Cofrin Logan Center's bar lab plays host to SAPEC 'Barstander' training session to help students identify warning signs of escalating behavior, build their confidence as bystanders and to allow them to fail safely at trying out different intervention strategies.