Teens sought for bone density project
Participants must be healthy non- smokers who still live at home
Wanted: Healthy teenagers between 15 and 18 years old.
Last year, Dr. Hope Weiler launched what’s called the Family Study to research the effect of dairy products on the bones of healthy teenagers. Weiler is the principal investigator at the Mary Emily Clinical Nutrition Research Unit that is housed on McGill University ’s Macdonald Campus in SteAnne-de- Bellevue. The study needs more teenagers. So far, 15 teenagers have signed up. The ideal number is 200. The more teenagers, the stronger the results.
“Teenagers are a hard group to reach,” registered nurse and clinical research associate Catherine Vanstone said. “At their age, they aren’t thinking about bone health years down the road.”
The fact is, you only have until 19 or 20 years old to build strong bones. After that, the slow decline in bone density begins.
Women are protected to a degree until menopause, after which men and women lose bone density at an equal rate. Building a strong skeleton early on reduces the chances of fractures later in life.
“The participants we have so far are very motivated and very interested in health,” Vanstone said.
“Some are interested in studying medicine. Others have a history of osteoporosis in the family. We need a real mix of individuals to strengthen our study.”
The School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition research initiative is called the Family Study as opposed to, say, the Milk Study for a reason. It’s mom and dad who do most of the grocery shopping, which means it’s their responsibility to shop with the study’s dietary imperatives in mind.
Participants must be healthy non- smokers who still live at home and don’t take medication of any sort. They must also consume two milk products every day.
“The parents have to be involved — encouraging their teenager to eat the right things,” Vanstone said. “Research shows that 75 per cent of teenagers do not consume enough dairy. The skeleton is growing so rapidly at that age, they really need to give their bones the necessary minerals, like calcium.”
The Family Study is a four- year project. Each participant is followed for two years.
“Two years seems like an eternity for that age group, but they actually only meet with researchers five times over the two years,” Vanstone said.
The first meeting can take up to two hours, with the parents present. Questionnaires are filled in and the study’s requirements are explained.
After that, participants check in on their own every six months. They receive dietary advice, a blood sample might be taken and on two of those visits — at 18 months and 24 months — a bone scan will be taken. Participants are given a $ 20 stipend for every visit. They are also given printouts of their body scans, which show bone density, muscle density and fat mass.
The study is jointly funded by Agriculture Canada and the Dairy Farmers of Canada.
The project was selected by an academic, peer- review committee with no connection to the Dairy Farmers of Canada.
For more information or to participate in the study, call 514- 3987527, email growstrongbones@gmail.com or visit www.mcgill.ca/ mecnru.