The vibrant research ethos at UCC is looking into much more than how industry and the environment can get along. Another team of experts there believes a generation of keen slimmers may well pay a high price later in life for starving themselves to look good. The issue is osteoporosis - "a ticking health time-bomb," according to UCC's department of nutrition, "which destroys countless lives each year". The condition is caused by thinning of the bones, leading to fractures, severe disability and even death. It is a cruel disease, says the department, which steals up on people as the years mount. It is also a source of growing concern to the health authorities.
The research team says that from studies in the US, it knows the number of people suffering from osteoporosis will increase by 60 per cent over the next 30 years. The reason for this, partially, is due to the ageing population profile as well as changes in lifestyle and diet.
Prof Albert Flynn and Dr Kevin Cashman of UCC are helping to lead research into the condition and how diet may have an impact on the susceptibility to it. Groups of 20 to 30 young people have been taking part in various dietary studies in which they are fed increased amounts of certain nutrients. The respondents have been answering detailed questions about their diet and have been providing blood and urine samples to allow the researchers measure any changes in bone health and metabolism resulting from the increased intake of nutrients.
Dr Cashman believes an obsession with slimming or weight control has led many females in particular, to stop consuming adequate amounts of various nutrients such as calcium, which is vital to long-term bone health. He also says that in today's car-dominated society, older people are taking less exercise than previous generations.
"A lot of damage can be done through an inadequate intake of nutrients in the teenage years and early adulthood. It has been established that 99 per cent of one's bone mass is laid down by the age of 26," Dr Cashman says. The researchers believe too that bone mass may start to decrease in the early 30s. "Osteoporosis comes in two forms. The first affects some women having gone through the menopause, a period in a woman's life which causes a big increase in the rate of bone loss. The second is related to advanced age. People with lighter frames are more vulnerable," the research group adds. Dr Cashman insists the importance of calcium intake during peak periods of bone growth cannot be overstated.
"In effect, it is important while young to lay down a maximum amount of bone. Unfortunately, the obsession among some young women with weight, has, at least in part, led to a reduction in the consumption of milk products as a response. In the US, the food companies have responded by ensuring that calcium is added to orange juice, the preferred drink of some teenage girls. While bone health is also governed by factors such as genetics and exercise, the issue of diet is clearly critical," he added.
The researchers have found that the Irish are more vulnerable to osteoporosis than people in the Mediterranean, for instance, while Caucasians are more badly affected than people of African origin.
The incidence among Asians is lower but has been growing as Western lifestyles continue to be adopted. Dr Cashman and his colleagues say vitamin D is vital to bone health.
Unfortunately, this vitamin is derived in large part from sunlight and sunlight in these parts is something of a rare commodity.