Calcium balance in 1-4-y-old children.
BACKGROUND
Few calcium balance data are available from young children on which to base dietary recommendations.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to evaluate the relation between calcium intake and balance in healthy children aged 1-4 y consuming typical American diets.


METHODS
Subjects were assigned to a diet with nutrient intakes similar to those of their usual diet. Calcium absorption was assessed by using a dual-tracer stable-isotope technique. Endogenous fecal excretion was measured in a subset of children, and net calcium balance was calculated.


RESULTS
Mean calcium intake was 551 mg/d (range: 124-983 mg/d), and mean (+/-SEM) calcium retention was 161 +/- 17 mg/d. Both linear and nonlinear modeling of balance data showed that a calcium intake of approximately 470 mg/d led to calcium retention of 140 mg/d, which is the amount that meets expected bone growth needs in children of this age. No evidence was found that calcium intakes of 800 to 900 mg/d reached the threshold intake beyond which no additional increase in calcium retention would occur.


CONCLUSIONS
Bone growth needs in 1-4-y-old children following American diets are met by a daily calcium intake of approximately 470 mg/d, which suggests that the current Adequate Intake of 500 mg/d is close to the actual Estimated Average Requirement. The benefits and risks of higher calcium intakes consistent with threshold values should be evaluated in a controlled trial before those intakes could be used as a basis for dietary recommendations.
Lynch
Mary Frances
MF
US Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Griffin
Ian J
IJ
Hawthorne
Keli M
KM
Chen
Zhensheng
Z
Hamzo
Maria
M
Abrams
Steven A
SA
D001724:Birth Weight; D001846:Bone Development; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000378:metabolism*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007408:Intestinal Absorption; D012016:Reference Values; D014481:United States
D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D002118:Calcium