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It’s
Camp time at Purdue!
Camp
Calcium is in full
swing at Purdue! Camp Calcium is a
Purdue research project designed to investigate various aspects of calcium
metabolism while participants live on campus. This year Asian boys and girls were
invited to participate in this fun, educational summer camp. This is the ninth year for Camp Calcium.
This research project funded by the National Institutes
of Health in collaboration with Indiana School of Medicine since 1990 gets its
name because it is actually a research project studying how much calcium is
needed to build strong bones and avoid osteoporosis, a bone  disease that can be prevented
by eating proper amounts of calcium during the teenage years.
According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, osteoporosis is a major public health threat for an
estimated 44 million Americans or 55 percent of the people 50 years of age
and older. In the U.S.
today, 10 million individuals are estimated to already have the disease and
almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at
increased risk for osteoporosis.
"Asians make up more than one-half of the world population, yet we
know very little about how much calcium they need to build strong
bones," said Connie Weaver, distinguished professor and head of
Purdue's Department of Foods
and Nutrition. "As they age, they will be susceptible to hip
fractures and osteoporosis, a bone-loss disease that now costs $14 billion
in health care every year. So research coming out of this summer's program
will help us develop a plan that will help Asians avoid that life-changing
diagnosis."
This summer 32 Asian girls between 12 -14 years old and boys between
13-15 will spend two separate three-week sessions on the West Lafayette
campus, living in a residence hall and eating all their meals
together. Between meals and testing,
campers have the opportunity to participate in many fun summer activities
including swimming, arts and crafts, sports and field trips.
"What sets Camp
Calcium apart is that
we are watching every single thing our campers eat every day," Weaver
said. "Participants are supervised around the clock, and we weigh out
everything they eat for every meal. This gives us information about their
entire diet and gives us complete control over their calcium and dietary
constituents that might influence calcium utilization."
Because the Purdue researchers will know how much calcium each subject
consumes, blood tests and waste analyses will tell them how much calcium
stays in the bones.
Data from previous camps have been used to establish the Institute of Medicine’s Dietary Reference Intake
and Calcium Requirements for adolescents.
Results also were used in last year’s surgeon general’s report on
osteoporosis and bone health. For
more information about Camp
Calcium visit their
website at www.cfs.purdue.edu/fn/campcalcium
or contact Berdine Martin, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate martinb1@purdue.edu.
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