Experts on aging discuss lifestyle medicine, policy at the 2026 Optimal Aging Conference

Lifestyle medicine is an evidence-based medical specialty that promotes lifestyle interventions to address the root causes of chronic illnesses, and it’s gaining ground across the country —the American College of Lifestyle Medicine boasts more than 15,000 members, and over 450 academic programs include lifestyle medicine into their curricula. 

The specialty’s growing popularity and promising health outcomes made it an apt focus for the annual Optimal Aging Conference, which highlights the latest practices, research and developments in the care of older adults. 

Hosted by the UofL Trager Institute Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic and Kentucky Association of Gerontology, the annual conference, with the theme Lifestyle Medicine: Pathways to Optimal Aging, drew over 250 attendees to the Founders Union on UofL’s Shelby Campus from April 16–17. 

“Since the establishment of the Optimal Aging Clinic, our approach has been to empower people to improve their health with the knowledge, skills and resources rooted in the pillars of lifestyle medicine,” says Anna Faul, executive director of the Trager Institute Optimal Aging Clinic. “It’s about meeting our patients where they are and individualizing their care according to their specific needs and circumstances.”

The institute hosted a cooking demonstration at its Culinary Medicine Kitchen on April 15 as a pre-conference event to kick off the theme. Chef Nikkia Rhodes directed nine participants through six brain-healthy recipes to reinforce the impact of nutrition on health. 

During the conference, Jessica Jolly, senior director of practice advancement at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, furthered the discussion as the opening keynote. She shared how social service workers and health practitioners can incorporate the pillars of lifestyle medicine—nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep, social connection and avoidance of risky substances—into their care of older adults.

Justine Landi, a geriatrician at the Optimal Aging Clinic, presented on substance use disorders among older adults and advocated for a compassionate approach to this misunderstood and stigmatized health issue. 

The conference also saw the return of national aging care advocates Sandy Markwood from USAging and Bob Blancato from Matz, Blancato and Associates and the addition of Emily Beauregard from Kentucky Voices for Health for a national and state policy update that highlighted the latest political and budgetary changes shaping aging policy and service delivery. 

The event wrapped up with a panel of older adults—Judy Lizenby and past Gold Standard of Optimal Aging Award honorees Alice Bratcher Ramer Rice and Bob Ivan Johnson—who shared their advice and had the audience laughing along to their humorous anecdotes. 

Next year’s Optimal Aging Conference will focus on women’s health and take place April 15–16, 2027. For updates, visit the conference webpage.