May 8, 2003

Prairie Fare: Calcium and Weight: Is There a Connection?

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

Unless you’ve turned off your TV and avoided magazines and newspapers for the past few years, chances are you’ve heard or read that overweight and obesity are major issues in the U.S.

According to statistics from the U.S. Surgeon General, about 34 percent of U.S. adults ages 20 to 74 are overweight and another 27 percent are obese.

There’s some good news, though. In American’s "battle of the bulge," there may be a nutrient to help manage weight and also reduce risk for diseases linked with overweight/obesity. According to recent research, a calcium-rich, reduced-calorie diet may help pare off pounds better than a reduced-calorie diet alone.

In other words, if wearing a smaller size is your goal, don’t shun milk and other calcium-rich foods.

In the 1980s the connection between calcium and weight loss surprised researchers who were looking at the role that calcium played in helping manage high blood pressure among African American men. When the men added two cups of yogurt to their daily diets, they lost about 10 pounds over the course of a year.

Intrigued researchers then designed weight loss studies to look at the role of calcium in helping promote weight loss. The researchers formulated diets for their five different groups of participants with 500 fewer calories per day to promote a one-pound-per-week weight loss. The diets contained either little calcium, medium-calcium or high-calcium from foods or supplements.

More calcium was linked with greater weight loss. In the calcium-rich weight-loss diets, dairy products emerged as stars. A dairy-rich reduced-calorie diet was more effective than either a lower-calorie diet or a lower-calorie diet with calcium supplements.

In other studies, researchers have noted a link between body fat levels among preschool children and their calcium intake. Children who consumed more calcium had less body fat and more lean mass than children who consumed less calcium.

More research is needed to explain why dairy products seem to help promote weight loss. In the meantime, meeting the calcium recommendations is good for healthy bones and teeth, too.

Are you meeting your calcium needs? These are the current calcium daily recommendations for different age groups:

1-3 years: 500 milligrams (mg)

4-8 years: 800 mg

9-18 years: 1300 mg

19-50 years: 1000 mg

51-70 plus: 1200 mg

Some calcium sources include plain low-fat yogurt (400 mg/cup), non-fat milk (300 mg/cup), calcium-fortified juice (350 mg/cup), cheddar cheese (300 mg/1.5 oz), oranges (50 mg/medium orange) and cooked broccoli (45 mg/half-cup). Calcium-fortified cereal varies widely in calcium content, so read the Nutrition Facts label and add a "zero" to the "percent daily value" to learn calcium content. For example, a serving of cereal providing 30 percent of the daily value would contain 300 mg calcium.

Here’s a calcium-rich "smoothie" recipe to enjoy for a snack or breakfast.

Yogurt-Berry Smoothies

2 c. vanilla low-fat yogurt
2 c. frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries)
1 banana, sliced
1/2 c. orange juice

Mix ingredients in blender until smooth. Pour into four glasses and serve immediately.

Makes four servings. When unsweetened berries are used, each serving contains 185 calories, 1.8 grams fat and 37 grams carbohydrate. When sweetened berries are used, each serving contains 245 calories, 1.8 grams fat and 54 grams carbohydrate.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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