April 25, 2002
Best-selling author of ‘Strong Women’ books to speak here
Best-selling author Dr. Miriam E. Nelson, known for her series of “Strong Women” books, will be the featured speaker at the spring public lecture presented by the de Tornyay Center on Healthy Aging in the School of Nursing and the UW Retirement Association.
She will speak on “Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis” at 11 a.m., Thursday, May 2, in Hogness Auditorium at the Health Sciences Center. The lecture is free and open to everyone.
“Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis” is also the title of her most recent book, published this month by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Her co-authors are Dr. Kristin Baker, a research fellow at Boston University, and Dr. Ronenn Roubenoff of the Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.
Nelson is an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nurtrition Science and Policy and director of the Center for Physical Fitness, both at Tufts University. She earned a Ph.D. in nutrition, also from the Friedman School at Tufts, and has focused her research on exercise, aging and women’s health.
The book and the lecture will focus on a complete program developed at Tufts to reduce pain and disability for people with arthritis, as well as improve mood and boost self-confidence. In studies at Tufts, the at-home program reduced pain by more than 40 percent and improved strength more than 70 percent.
The program includes a step-by-step exercise program designed specifically to protect joints and lessen stiffness and soreness, an eating plan to reduce inflammation and pain, a guide to the latest medications and complementary therapies, and strategies for overcoming arthritis-related depression.
Nelson has published results of her research in medical journals including the Journal of the American Medical Association and has also been featured in the popular press and on television shows such as Today. For more information on the deTornyay Center for Healthy Aging and the lecture, contact Margaret Anderson, manager, at 685-9114.
