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free tools for patients, expert nutrition advice and information on updated
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Educate your patients on the importance of 3-A-Day of Dairy: Here's
a great
tool (PDF: 618k) to show families how to get their 3-A-Day of Dairy
every day for stronger bones.
Developed in conjunction with The American Academy of Family
Physicians, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Dietetic
Association, and The National Medical Association.
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Dairy Council Digest Archives
Preventing Osteoporosis: Starting In Childhood
Increasing Intake of Calcium and Calcium-Rich Dairy Foods Benefits Bone Health
Numerous scientific findings reveal that increasing calcium intake during childhood and/or adolescence to at least 1,300mg/day and closer to 1,500mg/day as recommended by the National Institutes of Health (10) and endorsed by the American Medical Association (11) increases bone density (6,45,46,58-64). Moreover, consuming 1,500mg calcium/day has no adverse effects on iron, zinc, or magnesium metabolism during growth (65-67).
A recent investigation involving 149 8-year old females found that increasing calcium intake from approximately 900mg/day to 1,750mg/day for one year increased bone mineral density at the arm and hip, and to a lesser extent, the spine (60). For children whose diets were low in calcium, raising calcium intake led to approximately a 2% greater increase in bone mineral density (60).
Early establishment of dietary habits that include milk intake may contribute to higher calcium intakes in later years.
Similar beneficial effects of increasing dietary calcium intake on bone have been demonstrated in adolescents (59,61-64). A recent Australian study involving 42 pairs of twins aged 10 to 17 years found that increasing calcium intake from about 800mg/day to more than 1,600mg/day for 18 months increased spinal bone mineral density by 1.5% and hip bone density by 1.3% (62).
An adequate intake of calcium may also help to protect against bone fractures during childhood (15). A study in New Zealand found that bone density was 3% to 5% lower at different skeletal sites in girls aged 3 to 15 years with a recent forearm fracture than in those who had never broken a bone (15). The researchers suggest that the older girls' lower calcium intake through dairy foods likely contributed to their low bone density (15).
Intake of dairy foods (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese) has been demonstrated to benefit bone health in children and adolescents (45,46). In girls 9 to 13 years of age who increased their calcium intake from 728mg/day to 1,437mg/day with dairy foods, total and spinal bone mineral density significantly increased (45). The additional intake of dairy foods increased the girls' calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, and protein intake, but not total or saturated fat (45). A recent British study found that adolescent girls who consumed an additional daily pint of milk for 18 months gained 37g of bone and increased their intake of protein, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, riboflavin, and thiamin (46). In both of these studies (45,46), the additional intake of dairy foods did not increase body weight or fatness.
Retrospective studies have linked increased milk intake during the early years with greater bone mineral density and lower risk of osteoporosis in adulthood (68-71). A recent investigation of 224 women ages 18 to 31 years found that higher reported milk intakes during childhood were associated with higher total bone mineral content. During adolescence, milk intakes were positively linked with total body bone mineral content, total body bone mineral density, spine mineral content, and arm bone mineral density and content (71). This study also linked higher reported milk intakes during young adulthood with higher spine mineral content (71). The finding that greater milk intakes during childhood and adolescence were associated with greater current adult calcium intakes indicates that the early establishment of dietary habits that include milk intake may contribute to similar habits of milk intake in later years (71).
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