More Calcium Leads to Less Weight Gain

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.Dietary calcium intake was significantly associated with less abdominal weight gain in premenopausal women during the course of one year, according to a recent study published in Obesity (2010;18 11, 21012104. doi:10.1038/oby.2010.39).

Researchers led by Nikki C. Bush, Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, found average calcium intake was significantly, inversely associated with one-year change in abdominal fat (P < 0.05) after adjusting for confounding variables. For every 100 mg/day of calcium consumed, gain in abdominal fat was reduced by 2.7 cm2. No significant associations were observed for average calcium intake with change in weight or total fat.

The researchers evaluated 119 healthy, premenopausal women evaluated at the start of the study and one year later. Average dietary calcium was determined via four-day food records. Total fat was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT) and intra-abdominal adipose tissue  (IAAT), by computed tomography.

During the study period, participants' reported they ate on 610.0 ± 229.9 mg daily calcium and consumed 1,623.1 ± 348.5 calories. The mean change in weight, total fat, IAAT and SAAT  were 4.9 ± 4.4 kg, 5.3 ± 4.0 kg, 7.7 ± 19.5 cm2, and 49.3 ± 81.1 cm2, respectively.

The study follows closely behind an Israel study that found calcium along with vitamin D increased weight loss for those following a diet in a recent two-year study (Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Sep 1. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2010.29355). Researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel, found both higher dairy calcium intake and increased blood concentrations of vitamin D were related to greater diet-induced weight loss.  The researchers found individuals who consumed a median of 156.5 mg/d of dairy calcium experienced an average weight loss of 3.3 kg, those who consumed 358 mg/d lost 21.2 kg, and those who consumed 582.9 mg/d lost 5.3 kg (P = 0.043).

The Institutes of Medicine (IOM) recommends 1,000 to 1,500 mg/d of total calcium intake.