UAMS Lifespan Conference Highlights Nutrition’s Ability to Influence Health at Every Age
| At the 2025 Advancing Arkansas Lifespan Research Conference, two nationally recognized nutrition scientists emphasized how diet quality throughout life profoundly influences long-term health and resilience.
The daylong event, held Oct. 14 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, brought together about 80 researchers from across UAMS and beyond to explore the conference’s theme of “Charting a Path to Lifelong Health and Resilience through Nutrition.”
Research leaders representing the conference’s sponsors are (l-r): Elisabet Børsheim, Ph.D. (director, College of Medicine Lifespan Cardiometabolic Health Creativity Hub); Colin Kay, Ph.D. (director, Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center); Laura James, M.D. (director, UAMS Translational Research Institute) and Tamara Perry, M.D. (interim president, Arkansas Children’s Research Institute).
The conference featured keynote talks from Heather Leidy, Ph.D., of the University of Texas at Austin, and Sameera Talegawkar, Ph.D., of George Washington University in Washinton, D.C.
Leidy, associate professor in the departments of Nutritional Sciences and Pediatrics at the Dell Medical School, described a “perfect storm” for today’s adolescents with a combination of higher nutrient needs, poor diet quality, and rising rates of mental health challenges and obesity.
“Adolescence is one of those underexamined, really important life stages,” Leidy said. “It’s the bridge between establishing a healthy lifestyle and preserving it as we age.”
Drawing on national data from NHANES 2017–2020, she noted that older teens, particularly females, fall short on essential nutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamin D and omega-3s. “Teenage girls have the lowest diet quality of any group,” she said. “They’re underconsuming nearly everything — calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, iron, protein — you name it.”
Her research shows that simply adding a high-protein breakfast can improve appetite control, diet quality and metabolic health. “If you provide a high-protein breakfast of about 24 to 30 grams you can change their appetite and energy balance for the entire day,” she said.
In a series of studies, Leidy’s team found that teens who ate protein-rich breakfasts reduced evening snacking, stabilized glucose levels and prevented unhealthy fat gain. Yet maintaining those habits is difficult. “We see 80-90% of teens return to skipping breakfast once the intervention ends,” she said. “It’s not a motivation issue; it’s access.”
Her “Breakfast in the Classroom” project in Kansas City replaced refined-carb foods with egg-based meals for 585 middle school students. Participation rose sharply, and students reported fewer afternoon cravings. Leidy urged family and school-based solutions: “If you make it tasty and portable, teens will eat it.”
Talegawkar, the conference’s second keynote speaker, shifted the focus to later life. A professor in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, she described how long-term eating patterns influence cardiovascular health, mobility and frailty.
Sameera Talegawkar, Ph.D., presents her nationally-recognized research.
“There are multiple ways to achieve a healthy dietary pattern,” she said. “The emphasis should be on fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish and unsaturated fats — foods that support both physical and cognitive health.”
Her research, which draws on aging studies in Italy and the United States, shows that older adults who follow a Mediterranean-style diet experience slower physical decline and less frailty. She also found that high consumption of ultra-processed foods was linked to greater frailty, while better cardiovascular health scores, measured by the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8, were associated with lower risk of dementia, disability and mortality.
“Diet is important,” she added, “but movement may be where we can make the biggest difference.”
Talegawkar is extending this work to study diet-related metabolites that may explain links between nutrition and frailty. She also co-leads a new Washington, D.C., project examining whether new urban parks and grocery access can influence physical activity and eating behaviors.
Larissa da Cruz, Ph.D., discusses her poster during the conference’s poster session.
The day also included presentations by UAMS scientists covering topics such as early-childhood nutrition, gut health, collagen and connective tissue, and dietary supplements. Presenters included Taren Massey-Swindle, Ph.D.; Britni Ayers, Ph.D.; Brian Piccolo, Ph.D.; Stacie Jones, M.D.; Shiloah Kviatkovsky, Ph.D.; Igor Koturbash, M.D., Ph.D.; Nithya Neelakantan, Ph.D.; and David Church, Ph.D.
Moderators were Laura James, M.D.; Elisabet Børsheim, Ph.D.; Colin Kay, Ph.D.; and Craig Porter, Ph.D.