University students can soon control their weight while helping people afflicted with leukemia by taking part in the fifth annual Leukemia Society Weight-a-Thon.

Participants in the local fundraiser are being asked to obtain sponsors who will pledge money for each pound they gain, lose or maintain during the period, said Bonnie Flay, representative from Ritenour Health Center.

University Health Services will be participating as a community weigh-in center for the event. A scale will be located in the out-patient department of Ritenour for a verified weigh-in from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 23 and a weigh-out on March 3, Flay said.

"This is a great fundraiser for people who want to lose weight and also for people who want to put on some weight," she said.

Leukemia, sometimes called cancer of the blood, is a malignant disease which affects blood-forming tissues and organs, mainly in the body's bone marrow and spleen. It is the most fatal disease among children, yet more than half of all cases occur in persons over 60. Leukemia will strike some 70,000 people in the United States each year and kill about 41,000, according to an informational pamphlet distributed by Ritenour.

Karen Kratofil, program coordinator for the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Leukemia Society, said during the past four years the Weight-a-Thon has raised more than $45,000 for the Leukemia Society. All money raised will benefit leukemia research and patient-aid in the chapter's area, Kratofil said.

"The first year we raised between $3,000 and $4,000 and it has really built up from there," she said.

Prizes will be awarded according to the total amount raised by each individual. The grand prize is a $300 shopping spree courtesy of Foodland in Pittsburgh. Other prizes include color TVs, portable AM/FM radios, video cassette recorders, souvenir T-shirts and exercise equipment.