Purdue Professor Secures $8.8 Million Grant
Purdue University professor Connie Weaver has landed an $8.8 million grant. The funding from the National Institutes of Health will support the study of dietary recommendations and curbing sodium intake among teenagers.
Over the course of the five-year grant, researchers will study the effects of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet on the teens. The study will include over 500 boys and girls with elevated blood pressure from age 11-15. Participate in the study will attend two, 25-day Camp DASH summer camps, which will include educational and fitness activities and specific diets while living in residence halls. The camp is similar to Weaver’s "Camp Calcium" which studied calcium levels in adolescents and determined levels to maximize bone growth.
"Just like dietary habits, high blood pressure is often established during childhood and we need a better nutritional approach as this concerning incidence of high blood pressure climbs," said Connie Weaver, head and distinguished professor of nutrition science who is leading this study. "Few studies have investigated the effect of specific diet recommendations or sodium reduction on blood pressure in adolescents, and knowing these effects could help prevent development of cardiovascular disease in adulthood."
In 2013 the American Heart Association published a study which showed a 27 percent rise in the risk of elevated blood pressure among children and adolescents during a 13-year period. High blood pressure is a risk for heart disease.
Professors working on this project include George McCabe, a Purdue professor of statistics. Kathleen Hill Gallant, a Purdue assistant professor of nutrition science, Lawrence Appel, professor at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Tami Hannon, a professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine in addition to Weaver.