Articles from:May 2025

• Former Sabres coach, Indigenous rights advocate to be honoured at Spring Convocation

  Wednesday, May 28, 2025 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY – MAY 28, 2025 – R0067

  Ted Nolan is no stranger to the thrill of the game, from life-changing victories to heart-wrenching defeats.

  It has taught the celebrated former National Hockey League (NHL) player and Buffalo Sabres head coach to tackle life challenges just as he would on the ice — head on.

  From advocating for Indigenous rights and facing off against systemic racism to waging a personal war with cancer, Nolan’s “no-quit” attitude has served him well through the years and will influence the advice he shares next month with Brock University’s graduating class.

  The proud member of northern Ontario’s Garden River First Nation will deliver the Convocation address on Tuesday, June 10, at Brock’s 2:30 p.m. ceremony, where he will also be presented with an honorary doctorate from the University recognizing his accomplishments and contributions.

  Throughout his career, Nolan has had an impact at each level of professional hockey, leading teams to championships and even coaching the Latvian national team in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

  In the 1980s, he played three seasons in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins before beginning his coaching career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds. His OHL success led to coaching opportunities with the Sabres and the New York Islanders, with Nolan becoming only the second First Nations head coach in the NHL.

  During his time coaching the Sabres, Nolan was honoured with the Jack Adams Award (1996-97), naming him the NHL’s Coach of the Year.

  Beyond hockey, Nolan is co-founder and President of 3Nolans, an organization providing hockey skills development training for Indigenous youth in First Nation communities across Canada. He also founded the Ted Nolan Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars for scholarships benefiting Indigenous women across Canada.

  An accomplished author, Nolan now dedicates his time to sharing his story with audiences nationwide through speaking engagements and his book, Life in Two Worlds: A Coach’s Journey from the Reserve to the NHL and Back.

  Nolan has been open about the racism he faced growing up and throughout his career and has worked to drive ongoing efforts towards truth and reconciliation in Canada.

  In 2022, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, and has detailed how his life in sports has helped him on his road to remission.

  Brock’s 117th Convocation will include seven ceremonies held from Tuesday, June 10 to Friday, June 13 in the Ian D. Beddis Gymnasium of Brock’s Walker Sports Complex. Ceremonies will take place at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day, except for Friday, June 13, when only a morning ceremony is scheduled.

  All ceremonies will be livestreamed online at brocku.ca/livestream

  For more information and a full schedule of Brock’s Spring Convocation, visit brocku.ca/convocation

  Media are welcome to attend Brock’s Spring Convocation ceremonies. Photographers shooting from directly in front of the stage are asked to wear a Convocation gown, which can be arranged through Communications Specialist Sarah Ackles.

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

   *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases

• Drugs and dieting: How shifting views are tilting the scales in the weight-loss world

  Wednesday, May 28, 2025 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY – MAY 28, 2025 – R0066

  While it was once considered taboo to publicly acknowledge the use of medication to shed stubborn pounds, times are changing and diet culture is evolving, say Brock University experts.

  They agree some drugs, such as Ozempic, may be effective interventions for obesity and metabolic disorders. Where the concern lies, Brock researchers say, is the use of these drugs as tools for weight loss, and the associated long-term physical and psychological effects that may come along as a result.

  This hasn’t stopped personal wellness brands that originally focused on nutrition — including WeightWatchers, which recently filed for bankruptcy — from now offering their members access to the drugs that have turned the industry on its head.

  This shift is reflective of society’s evolving views on weight loss, says Professor of Kinesiology Kimberley Gammage, who researches positive body image and physical activity across diverse populations.

  A change in the way people think about weight loss has long been — and continues to be — needed, she says.

  “I do believe the ‘eat less, move more’ philosophy of weight loss is dated, since we know much more now around how genetics and biology play a very large role in weight,” she says.

  However, long-term consequences are unknown for people taking drugs merely to improve their appearance, Gammage says, since most of these medications are not approved for weight loss only.

  Assistant Professor of Kinesiology William Gittings, who studies musculoskeletal physiology, says weight-loss drugs aim to affect the body’s energy balance by increasing energy expenditure while simultaneously inducing appetite-suppressing effects.

  If people taking the drugs don’t consume adequate essential nutrients in their diet and aren’t physically active enough to stimulate muscle and bone growth, there could be serious health impacts down the road, he says.

  “A short-term medical intervention to target weight loss should not come at the cost of critical bone and muscle tissues, as this may translate into greater risk of sarcopenia, osteoporosis and frailty in late adulthood,” says Gittings.

  “There are important gaps in our understanding of how strategies involving diet and exercise may be used to support medically supervised management of obesity and metabolic disorders,” he says.

  Gammage notes the “quick fix” approach also comes with other concerns: the drugs don’t necessarily work for everyone; work only as long as people are taking them; aren’t tolerated well by all; and are often prescribed online by physicians who may not know if it is the right treatment for an individual, as a prior relationship hasn’t been built.

  Professor of Kinesiology and exercise physiologist Nota Klentrou says childhood, adolescence and young adulthood is the time to set lifelong habits of exercising and eating nutritious foods, patterns that help maintain a healthy weight and a robust musculoskeletal structure and function.

  “Drugs should never be the first step to weight loss, which needs a long-lasting strategy instead of rapid, Band-Aid solutions,” says Klentrou, who studies how exercise and diet affect bone development and lifelong bone health.

  “In addition, more research is needed across the lifespan before we know age-appropriate dosage and the long-term effects of these drugs before expanding their usage.”

  Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies Danielle Sirianni Molnar, the Canada Research Chair in Adjustment and Well-Being in Children and Youth, says disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, and rigid control over food and appearance are consistently linked to perfectionism.

  Perfectionists rely heavily on others’ evaluations to determine their self-worth, making them exceptionally sensitive to criticism or perceived judgment, says Sirianni Molnar, who studies teen perfectionism.

  “The medication’s promise of rapid, visible results can feel like a controlled, ‘flawless’ solution or in other words, a direct route to meeting the excessively high demands for success and approval that perfectionists impose on themselves,” she says.

  Professors of Kinesiology Kimberley Gammage and Nota Klentrou, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology William Gittings and Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies Danielle Sirianni Molnar are available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

   

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

   

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  Categories: Media releases