[Daily calcium intake and body mass index in a group of Lebanese adolescents].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between daily calcium intake (DCI) and body mass index (BMI) in a group of Lebanese adolescents.


RESULTS
419 adolescents (219 boys and 169 girls) aged 13-18 years participated in our study. DCI was calculated using a validated questionnaire, and anthropometrical characteristics (weight and height) were measured. In this study, only 20% of the adolescents met the adequate DCI recommendation of 1300 mg/day. Boys had a significantly higher mean DCI than girls (1023 +/- 360 mg/d and 839 +/- 303 mg/d respectively for boys and girls ; p < 0.001). DCI was negatively related to BMI in boys (r = -0,15; p < 0.05) but not in girls. Obese boys had a significantly lower mean DCI than those whose BMI was normal (869 +/- 249 mg/d and 1043 +/- 373 mg/d respectively ; p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, 80% of the adolescents do not meet the DCI adequate intake. It seems important to encourage these adolescents to increase their DCI. Moreover, this study shows that DCI is inversely related to age in girls and to BMI in boys.
El Hage
Rawad
R
Laboratoire de physiologie et de biomécanique de la performance motrice, Université de Balamand, Al Koura, Liban. rawadelhage21@hotmail.com
Jacob
Christophe
C
Moussa
Elie
E
Jaffré
Christelle
C
Benhamou
Claude-Laurent
CL
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D002136:Calcium, Dietary