Research
Longitudinal calcium intake is negatively related to children’s body fat indexes

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Abstract

Objective

To determine if dietary calcium was negatively related to children’s body fat (BF), if BF indexes and calcium intakes changed over time, and to identify variables related to BF and calcium intake.

Design

Percent BF and kg BF were assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 8-year-old children. In a prospective design, height, weight, dietary intakes, and related variables were monitored longitudinally from ages 2 months to 8 years during in-home interviews.

Subjects

Fifty-two white children, (n=25 boys, 27 girls) participated in a longitudinal study with their mothers. At 8 years of age, mean BMI was 17.3±2.1 (standard deviation) for boys and 17.1±2.5 for girls.

Analyses

Regression analysis of all variables, followed by further regression analysis on selected models.

Results

At 8 years, percent BF was 22.7±6.7 for boys and 26.2±7.9 for girls, as assessed by DEXA. Dietary calcium (mg) and polyunsaturated fat intake (g) were negatively related to percent BF (P=.02 to .04) in 3 statistical models, which predicted 28% to34% of the variability in BF among children. Variables positively associated with percent BF were total dietary fat (g) or saturated fat (g), female gender, sedentary activity (hours/day), father’s BMI, and mothers’ percent BF. Calcium intakes were significantly correlated over time. Dietary variety was positively related to calcium intake, and intakes of carbonated beverages and other sweetened beverages were negatively related.

Applications/conclusions

Children should be strongly encouraged to regularly include calcium-rich foods and beverages in their diets.

Section snippets

Sample

Initially, infants were recruited through birth announcements in local newspapers and referrals from enrolled participants. The 8-year-old children in this study were a subset of the larger study (n=70), 9, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and included only those children whose mothers chose to have dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans for themselves and their children. The child/mother pairs (n=53) were continuous participants in a longitudinal study of factors related to children’s

Sample characteristics

Fifty-three child/mother pairs agreed to participate in the DEXA assessment when children were 8 years old. However, one mother was pregnant; therefore her DEXA was not administered. Thus, the final sample was 52 child/mother pairs; 46 of these children participated in the earlier DEXA assessment when children were 5.9±1.1 years (9). Mean age of the children was 8.1±0.1 years; mean age of their mothers was 38.0±3.6 years.

Body composition

Anthropometric characteristics of mothers and 8-year-old children by

Discussion

The similarities of the children’s mean calcium intakes over time and the significant correlations among age periods highlight the importance of establishing food habits early in a child’s life. This notion is further supported by the reported consistency in children’s food preferences over time (18). Boulton et al (27) reported similar correlations in tracking calcium intake in Australian children from 2 to 15 years of age, but correlations for boys were stronger than for girls, which

Applications

Parents should be encouraged to help children develop health-promoting habits that include:

  • Regular intake of calcium-rich foods, such as skim, 1% or 2% fat milk and other low-fat dairy products.

  • Limited time spent in sedentary activities and increased time in physically active pursuits.

  • Restricted intake of carbonated beverages and other low-nutrient beverages, such as fruit drinks, fruit “ades”, and tea.

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by Gerber Products Co. and the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station.

J. D. Skinner and B. R. Carruth are professor emeriti, the Nutrition Department, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. W. Bounds is assistant professor, Southern Mississippi University, Hattiesburg, USA

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    J. D. Skinner and B. R. Carruth are professor emeriti, the Nutrition Department, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. W. Bounds is assistant professor, Southern Mississippi University, Hattiesburg, USA

    P. Ziegler is principal scientist, Gerber Products Co, Parsippany, NJ, USA

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