UCF’s Keith Brazendale is bringing together pediatricians, organizers of summer day camps, and low-income families to study whether structured activities during summer help combat childhood obesity, as they do during the school year. “Schools actually do a great job because of structure built into each day,” he says. “Meanwhile, we’ve ignored 20 years of evidence showing weight gain and loss of fitness occurring during summer.”

The project will provide vouchers for free summer camp for 40 kids that meet certain weight and body mass index criteria. The team will then compare health markers for the 40 kids that attend summer camp with 40 kids who spend summer at home. They’ll study two more groups the following summer. “This won’t require 20 years in a lab … Everything is already in place to impact childhood obesity.”

• Keith Brazendale