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Contact: Karen Henry, the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies (785) 864-0756.

Center for physical activity, weight management joins KU Life Span Institute

LAWRENCE -- The Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management, directed by Joseph Donnelly, University of Kansas professor of health, sport and exercise science, is the newest research center affiliated with the Schiefelbusch Institute of Life Span Studies.

The Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management supports research, training and outreach on weight loss and weight maintenance. "Understanding the causes and treatment of obesity is crucial to optimal human development, which is at the core of the Life Span Institute's mission," said Life Span Director Steven Warren.

According to Donnelly, overweight and obesity are the most prevalent chronic diseases in the United States, together affecting more than 50 percent of the adult population.

The central feature of the center is the Energy Balance Laboratory in Robinson Center. Completed in January 2000, the 8,000-square-foot facility contains state-of-the-art instrumentation to measure energy intake and energy expenditure.

Of special interest is the whole-room indirect calorimeter, a device that measures precise energy expenditure under a variety of experimental conditions. This unique device is one of only six in the country and is considered the gold standard in measuring energy expenditure.

"The calorimeter allows us to use novel research approaches to understand energy balance and contribute new ideas to diminish obesity," Donnelly said. The calorimeter is a 10-by-10-foot mini hotel room a subject stays in for 24 hours. Experimental conditions vary according to study protocol, and the results show the metabolic response to such conditions as special diets, exercise, drug therapy or surgery.

In addition to several NIH-funded studies, the center is following 120 subjects enrolled in the Weight Control Research Project, which is designed to provide weight loss and weight maintenance.