European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Calcium a sad tale about the future of american Bones by Jane e. Brody the new York times a walk Down the beverage aisle of any supermarket tells a sad tale about the future of american Bones the shelves often on both sides Are stacked with canned bottled and packaged fruit drinks and juices Flavoured soda Mineral and Plain Waters and packets of artificial drink mixes. The Frozen food bins hold More of the same. The Dairy counter pales by comparison. And the Young people who Are the primary Consumers of Calcium poor non Dairy beverages May be on their Way to building inadequate Bones. Even toddlers these Days May not be getting enough Bone building Calcium because Many mothers worried about allergies and mucus formation in response to milk fill their babies bottles and cups with Apple juice instead of Calcium Rich milk. Two recent studies indicate that Large numbers of healthy youngsters Are not consuming enough Calcium to reach a Peak Bone mass Large enough to protect them from fractures in their youth let alone in their adult years when Bones inevitably deteriorate this Prospect combined with Ever increasing life expectancy portends an epidemic of osteoporosis decades from now that will be far worse than what exists today. From birth Onward the density and size of Bones usually increase As children grow. In most people Bone mass reaches its maximum by about the age of 35. At that Point nearly everyone begins to lose Bone gradually at first and then in women at an accelerated rate As they go through menopause. The result for millions of older americans is osteoporosis the weakening of Bones with age As Calcium and other minerals Are lost faster than they can be replaced. Readers action Lin Community Center off limits to teens am a 17-year-old senior at Bamberg High school. Some of my fellow students and i Are wandering Why we can t play Pool in the Bamberg recreation Center. The workers there say it is Only for soldiers but they Call it the Community recreation Center the recreation Center Statt said we have a youth Center but the youth Center is tilled by younger children Ages 5-12 besides every unit has Pool tables and Sticks in their recreation rooms so i want to know Why a valid id card Holder cannot use the Community recreation Center Pool room Douglas e. Boggsjr. Bamberg Germany in Mai. Robert f. Arnone director personnel and Community activities Bamberg military Community replies the intent of the recreation Center is to provide soldiers a facility where they can relax with their fellow soldiers. Army regulation 215-2 states that Quot adult oriented facilities can Only be used for youth programs under strict Lime segregation and supervision practices in order to prevent the inappropriate mixing of youth and  the Community recreation Center is so named because it houses not Only the recreation Center Tor the soldiers but other Community services As Well such As the photo shop arts and crafts and the Library we Are sensitive to the needs of our teens in Bamberg and Are working very hard to provide adequate facilities to accommodate then needs the hours of the youth services facility were extended during the summer osteoporosis currently affects an estimated 20 million americans. Many of them will eventually become incapacitated some will even die of medical complications that ensue when for example their hip or leg Bones break. While most of the concern about osteoporosis has focused on women who Are the primary victims men too lose Bone with age. But men do not live As Long As women do and since men Start out with More Bone tissue it usually takes longer before they suffer the consequences of Bone loss. Bone researchers believe that a main defense against osteoporosis is to Start out with As much Bone As possible. Their calculations suggest that a 5 percent increase in Peak Bone density among Young adults could mean a 50 percent reduction in the risk of fractures in their older years. No one questions the crucial role Calcium plays in building Strong  children. Calcium irom foods is absorbed through the digestive tract with the Aid of activated Vitamin a a hormone the body makes from the Vitamin d in foods and the Vitamin d that is made in skin after exposure to sunlight. To help assure that people get enough Vitamin d even in Winter months when Sun and time outdoors Are limited commercially processed milk has Long been fortified with this vital nutrient. But consuming the needed nutrients is Only part of the Story. Bones like Muscles do not maintain themselves if there is no tension on them. That is Why people who Are bedridden and astronauts flying beyond the tug of Gravity lose Bone mass rapidly no matter How much Calcium they consume. Regular physical exercise is a crucial Factor in building and maintaining Strong Bones. If Young members of the soft drink generation also spend too Many hours in front of a television set instead of participating in energetic activity they place themselves at double jeopardy of poor Bone development. Months the younger children 5-12 would depart at 6 30 . So that the teens would have exclusive use of the facilities until closing time. The Community a in cooperation with the teen Council and Bamberg High school a is presently renovating a building for use As a teen Center that will provide facilities exclusively for the use of the teens. Teens Are actively participating in this project but More help is solicited. The More help we get the. Sooner the new teen Center will open. We intend to have the grand opening on oct. 19.aafes prices vary from place to place of a i am concerned about varying prices that occur All too frequently in cafes exchanges throughout Germany. I am stationed in bad Kissinger. I often visit other exchanges and notice Price differences in the same products and appliances from one Exchange to the other. One incident was a compact portable cd player priced at $190 in the Schweinfurt Exchange and $205 in the by Branch. When asked about it the manager found the puce in the computer was reduced some time ago but it was never posted. I am constantly finding these differences in two exchanges located 20 minutes apart. What is the problem i should not have to shop around to find the belter bargain. Either the managers of these exchanges Are not posting Price changes As they occur or cafes needs to update its computer to get All exchanges on the same Sheet of music trouble starts Early in a study of 164 healthy children from 2 to 16 years old or. Gary m Chan a paediatrician at the University of Utah medical Center discovered that those who consumed More than 1,000 milligrams of Calcium a Day had denser Bones in their arms than those who ingested less Calcium. Chan expressed special concern about adolescent girls the weight conscious Consumers of diet soda whose Calcium intake was often far below the 1,200 milligrams a Day recommended for 11 -to-24-year-Olds. Since approximately 45 percent of an adult s Skeleton is built and enlarged during adolescence being shortchanged on Calcium at this stage of life is especially damaging. Another recent study at Ohio state University found a direct relationship Between current Calcium intake and the density of spinal Bones in 49 healthy adolescent girls. Whereas 67 percent of the 8-to-10-year-old girls consumed the recommended 800 milligrams of Calcium daily Only 16 percent of those 11 to 18 fulfilled the 1,200 milligrams recommended for their age group. The researchers urged girls to consume More Calcium if they want to reduce the risk of spinal deterioration after menopause which can Lead to a loss of height and the Bent posture known As dowager s Hump. The problem of Calcium nutrition worsens after adolescence. Or. John . Anderson a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina school of Public health has been monitoring the Calcium intake and Bone density of College age women. In studies of about 800 College women 18 to 22 years old he has found that about three fourths of students All of whom can afford to eat properly do not consume nearly enough Calcium. From 20 percent to 35 percent of the women in Anderson s studies consume Only about 400 to 500 milligrams of Calcium a Day Well below half the recommended amount. Either Way the consumer is the one who ultimately pays. Master sgt. Armour Brown bad Kissinger Germany the sgt. Maj. Michel j. Bolduc he cafes Europe replies the cd player had been turned in to the bad Kissinger Exchange for a refund by a customer who had purchased it at another Exchange for $205. Because bad Kissinger is a Small Exchange that does t normally Stock this cd player the store did t receive the automatic Price change information. The store should have double checked the Price before putting it on the sales floor and i m sorry you had to prompt them to do so. Prices do vary in our stores from time to time. Store managers offer Quot manager s specials on items being phased out of their inventory and also on items that have been returned by customers and repaired at our Plant in Offenbach. At this time of year you la also find special Low prices on items because Many managers Are marking Down merchandise to make room for new models coming in for the new season to write us headers action line to the readers Quot court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers a action line co the stars and stripes Apo 09211-4211 All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 b the stars and stripes tuesday october 15, 1991