Camp Calcium to study dietary
needs for boys
By Matt Lindner
Staff
Writer
For the first time in its seven-year history, Camp
Calcium will be catering solely to boys on the Purdue campus.
Camp Calcium is really a research project, but
it's also an opportunity for boys ranging in age from 13 to 15 to earn
money for attending summer camp. Researchers monitor the amount of calcium
in each participant's diet, and their primary objective is to determine
the amount of calcium that is needed for proper bone growth in teen-agers.
Calcium is critical in the prevention of osteoporosis,
which is a disease primarily known to affect women. However, there has
been a dramatic increase in the number of osteoporosis cases in men
and, as a result, the researchers will be focusing on ways to prevent
that.
"It has been assumed that the calcium dietary needs
for boys are the same as those for girls," said Berdine Martin, research
associate in the department of foods and nutrition. "But there haven't
been any studies to actually determine if that is true. It's important
that we do these studies to determine if the dietary needs are the same
for both genders. The goal is to find out the daily calcium requirement
for boys."
To the boys, however, this camp will be more like
a normal day camp, one that they get paid to attend.
"The registration fee is $100," says Martin. "However,
for each day that they attend, the participants will earn $7. If they
complete all six weeks of the camp, they stand to earn upwards of $300."
The boys will enjoy mini sports camps that are
coordinated by Purdue coaches and their graduate assistants, field trips,
movies, nutrition and health classes and educational opportunities set
up by the chemistry and physics departments and the School of Veterinary
Medicine. Researchers will also determine each participant's fitness
level.
The camps run from June 10 to 30 and July 15 to
August 4 and are residential camps. Housing and all meals are provided.
Participants will be staying in Duhme Residence Hall and eating in the
Duhme recreation room because its cafeteria is being remodeled.
Interested males must be 13 to 15 years old and
in good health. For more information, call the department of foods and
nutrition toll free at (800)-830-0175, or e-mail Berdine Martin at martinb@cfs.purdue.edu.
|
