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Dietary calcium and obesity

A Date With Density

Obesity is on the rise among children as well as adults. But a new study shows that parents may be able to help obese children control their weight by increasing one important mineral in their diet.

The good news is that this mineral is easy to come by and may also be a key nutritional element in helping adults lose weight, too. The not-so-good news is that advice on the best way to get this mineral is a subject of controversy and confusion.

Following the kids

Previous studies have shown that an intake of dietary calcium among adults may be associated with lower amounts of body fat. With childhood obesity becoming a serious problem in most Western countries, researchers at the University of Tennessee (UT) designed a study to find out if calcium levels would have a beneficial effect on children’s body fat.

Researchers enrolled a total of 52 children. The group was evenly divided between boys and girls, and each child began the study two months after birth. All of the children were followed for eight years, with regular monitoring of weight, height, dietary intake and other related variables. Body fat was assessed with an x-ray technique called absorptiometry, which measures density.

When the data was compiled, a result that surprised no one was an association between higher body fat and the consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Lower body fat was most strongly associated with two factors: dietary calcium and polyunsaturated fat intake. Additionally, sufficient calcium intake was associated with diets that delivered a variety of different foods.

Adults benefit too

As I mentioned above, calcium intake may also provide adults with benefits for body weight management. Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a review of studies that examined the correlation of body weight to the intake of supplemental and dietary calcium. Among the data, researchers found evidence that:

  • Subjects who showed the highest level of weight loss also had the highest intake of calcium
  • Subjects with lower calcium intakes generally were found to have elevated body weight
  • Subjects with diets high in dairy and calcium tended to have greater loss of fat in the trunk area (Frankly, this one surprises me. With everything we know about dairy products, I think we’ll need to see the results of further studies before we can take this conclusion at face value.)

The NIH report notes that the studies reviewed were mostly small in scope, but conclusive enough to justify larger, population-based clinical trials – especially in light of the growing numbers of Americans suffering from obesity and other pre-diabetic conditions.

Come and get it

So how should you (and your kids and grandkids) go about getting calcium? The UT team concluded their study with this advice: “Children should be strongly encouraged to regularly include calcium-rich foods and beverages in their diets. And of course, “calcium-rich beverages” is likely a reference to milk, which is where the controversy begins.

One of the iconic beliefs of our culture is that milk is good for you, does a body good, builds strong bones, keeps teeth strong, etc. But as I’ve addressed in previous e-Alerts, there are many studies that support evidence that milk and other dairy products create more health problems than they solve – especially pasteurized milk which is low on vitamins and contains traces of antibiotics given to cows.

Fortunately, there are better sources of dietary calcium, including:

  • Half a cup of cooked kale – 100 mg of calcium
  • Half a cup of yellow, green, or wax beans – 55 mg
  • A medium orange – 55 mg
  • Three ounces of salmon – 80 mg

Got magnesium?

If calcium has a downside, it’s that the body does a poor job of absorbing it. In fact, only a small percentage of our calcium intake (whether from food or supplements) actually makes it into the bloodstream. But magnesium is known to increase the absorption of calcium, and many of the food sources of magnesium fit into a weight-watching diet: leafy green vegetables, whole grains, bananas, apricots, meat, beans, and nuts.

Phosphorus also promotes good calcium absorption. This is why sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and figs are some of the best calcium sources around, because all three deliver calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. In addition, phosphorus helps develop hard enamel, but studies have shown that the interior structure of teeth can be weakened when too much calcium and phosphorus are present without magnesium. And guess what delivers calcium and phosphorus, but zero magnesium?

Milk.

Shape of things to come

Dr. Jean Skinner, the lead author of the UT study, told NutraIngredients.com, “Even a slight decrease in body fat during childhood may reduce the risk of obesity in later childhood, adolescence and adulthood.”

Nevertheless, if you’ve reached adulthood and you’re carrying too much weight, a change in diet to optimize calcium intake and absorption may be an excellent first step to getting back into good shape.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

Sources:
“Longitudinal Calcium Intake is Negatively Related to Children’s Body Fat Indexes” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Vol. 103, No. 12, December 2003, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
“Increasing Calcium, Preventive Therapy for Childhood Obesity?” NutraIngredients.com, 12/18/04, nutraingredients.com
“Calcium Intake and Adiposity” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 77, No. 2, 281-287, February 2003, ajcn.org
“Calcium May Curb Weight Gain” Dr. Joseph Mercola, 2/5/03, mercola.com

 

 

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