title: Building bones in babies: can and should we exceed the human milk-fed infant's rate of bone calcium accretion?
abstract: Increasing calcium absorption and bone calcium accretion to levels above those achieved by human milk-fed, full-term infants is possible with infant formulas. However, no data support such a goal or suggest that it is beneficial to short- or long-term bone health. Small differences in the bioavailability of calcium between infant formulas are unlikely to have long-term consequences. Long-term studies of the effects of infant feeding type on ultimate bone mass are needed. For now, the vitamin-replete breast-fed infant's rate of calcium accretion during the first year of life should be the standard targeted for infant formulas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA. sabrams@bcm.edu
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Abrams
mesh_terms: D001682:Biological Availability; D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001846:Bone Development / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000737:chemistry; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000187:drug effects; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D002136:Calcium, Dietary