title: Calcium intake and body weight.
abstract: Five clinical studies of calcium intake, designed with a primary skeletal end point, were reevaluated to explore associations between calcium intake and body weight. All subjects were women, clustered in three main age groups: 3rd, 5th, and 8th decades. Total sample size was 780. Four of the studies were observational; two were cross-sectional, in which body mass index was regressed against entry level calcium intake; and two were longitudinal, in which change in weight over time was regressed against calcium intake. One study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of calcium supplementation, in which change in weight during the course of study was evaluated as a function of treatment status. Significant negative associations between calcium intake and weight were found for all three age groups, and the odds ratio for being overweight (body mass index, >26) was 2.25 for young women in the lower half of the calcium intakes of their respective study groups (P: < 0.02). Relative to placebo, the calcium-treated subjects in the controlled trial exhibited a significant weight loss across nearly 4 yr of observation. Estimates of the relationship indicate that a 1000-mg calcium intake difference is associated with an 8-kg difference in mean body weight and that calcium intake explains approximately 3% of the variance in body weight.
authors.affiliation: Osteoporosis Research Center, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska 68131, USA.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Heaney
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Recker
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lappe
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Barger-Lux
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rafferty
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hinders
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary