title: Growing Strong and Healthy with Mister Bone: An Educational Program to Have Strong Bones Later in Life.
abstract: Optimal peak bone mass and bone health later in life are favored by a sufficient calcium intake in infancy, childhood and adolescence. The purpose of this study was to test a new educational program created to monitor and to improve calcium and vitamin D intake in children. Nutritional habits in children were evaluated through a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess the intake of calcium, vitamin D, dairy products, and total caloric energy at baseline and after seven months of exposure to a unique educational program applied between November 2013 and May 2014 in 176 schoolchildren (48% male, 52% female) attending the fourth and fifth grades of two selected primary schools in Florence, Italy. A significant increase of calcium (from 870 ± 190 to 1100 ± 200 mg/day, p < 0.05), and vitamin D (from 3.6 ± 1.53 to 4.1 ± 2 µg/day) intake in children was documented after the educational program. The amount of specific foods important for bone health consumed, such as milk and vegetables, increased significantly, both in male and female children (p < 0.05). The proposed educational program appears to be effective in modifying calcium intake in children, with a significant increase in the consumption of dairy products and vegetables, but without a significant change in the total caloric intake.
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, Florence 50139, Italy. barbara.pampaloni@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pampaloni
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, Florence 50139, Italy. luisella.cianferotti@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Luisella
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cianferotti
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, Florence 50139, Italy. giorgio.gronchi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gronchi
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, Florence 50139, Italy. elisabartolini@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bartolini
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, Florence 50139, Italy. sergio.fabbri@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, Florence 50139, Italy. annalisa.tanini@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanini
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Bone Diseases Unit, Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, Florence 50139, Italy. marialuisa.brandi@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Brandi
mesh_terms: D001846:Bone Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D014807:Vitamin D
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D014807:Vitamin D
keywords: calcium intake; children; education; health; nutrition; osteoporosis; prevention; rickets; school