Calcium

The Calcium Crisis

Health risks to children with low calcium intake are:

• Bone fractures
• Rickets (bone disease resulting from low levels of Vitamin D)

Benefits of adequate calcium throughout life may include:

• Prevention of osteoporosis
• Lowered blood pressure
• A lower incidence of colon cancer
• Weight maintenance

Current research even suggests that dietary calcium may play a role in the prevention of childhood overweight. (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, December 2003, Volume 103, Number 12, page 1598, "Milk – Good for bones, good for reducing childhood obesity?")

Patterns of Calcium Consumption

Children are drinking more soft drinks and more non-citrus drinks than previously. During the same time, milk consumption has dropped. According to a December 2003 National Institutes of Health press release, only 13.5 percent of girls and 36.3 percent of boys age 12 to 19 in the United States get the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of calcium, placing them at risk for osteoporosis and other bone diseases. Bone fractures are increasing and pediatricians are seeing the re-emergence of rickets, a bone disease that results from low levels of vitamin D. Rickets became almost nonexistent when vitamin D was added to milk in the 1950’s, but is now appearing at greater rates around the country. Because nearly 90 percent of adult bone mass is established by the end of the teenage years, our nation’s youth face a serious public health problem in the future. The increasing availability of beverages on the school campus and more students bringing beverages to school are factors attributed to lower calcium intake. Milk vending on campuses may help improve calcium intake.

Functions of Calcium

Bones and teeth contain 99 percent of all calcium in the body. The other 1 percent is distributed within cells and in body fluids, such as the blood. This small percentage is extremely important in maintaining body functions, including:

• Clotting of blood after injury
• Nerve conduction
• Muscle contraction
• Enzyme regulation
• Control of blood pressure

Sources of Calcium

Food sources of calcium can be divided into three major groups. These groups were determined by the Food and Drug Administration to regulate food manufacturers and producers as to how calcium-containing foods could be labeled.

• High calcium sources – contain 200 mg or more of calcium per serving and include foods such as milk, yogurt, hard cheeses, canned salmon and sardines with the bones, and blackstrap molasses.
• Good calcium sources – contain 100-190 mg calcium per serving and include foods such as ice cream, custard, tofu, spinach, and turnip greens.
• Other calcium containing foods – contain less than 100 mg calcium per serving and include foods such as cottage cheese, almonds, dried beans, eggs, mustard greens, broccoli, carrots, oranges, orange juice, figs, dates, raisins, corn tortillas, pancakes, molasses. Some of the foods in the “other” group can be significant contributors to total calcium intake when eaten frequently.

Some foods are “calcium fortified,” meaning that calcium has been added to a food that does not normally include it at the level to which it is added. Read the food label to determine which foods have calcium added. A few brands of the following foods are fortified with calcium:

• orange juice
• apple juice
• cereal
• cereal bars
• frozen waffles

Calcium Education Materials

Powerful Bones. Powerful Girls. The web site for the National Bone Health Campaign urges young girls to plan ahead in order to eat a calcium-rich diet and stay active now, so they will have strong, healthy bones as adults. This interactive site written for girls age 9-12 includes fun quizzes and a recipe for calcium rich fruit smoothies.

Studies at the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Children’s Research Nutrition Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston show that giving children more calcium when they are younger will build stronger bones that may be more resistant to debilitating bone fractures from osteoporosis when they get older.

An issue of the Food Reflections newsletter from the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County is devoted to Nutrition and Osteoporosis and makes a good downloadable summary for educating adults.

The Power Up: From the Inside Out duplicating masters for junior and senior high are gender specific, providing girls and boys with tips on how to meet their calcium needs.

The Midwest Dairy Council and St. Louis Dairy Council provide education resources free of charge for parents, professionals and educators including handouts, videos and health education kits. To find out if your area is served by the St. Louis or Midwest Dairy Council, view the Missouri map for contact information.

The National Dairy Council provides education materials that may be downloaded including newsletters, handouts and charts. The materials include facts about sources of dietary calcium, adequate intake, the function of calcium in the body, and more.

Calcium Educational Strategies for Preteens and Teens helps to develop messages and educational strategies tailored to at-risk groups.

The Louisiana State University Ag Center has a Youth Fact Sheet with a scrambled word game, a song and recipe as well as downloadable posters. Adult fact sheets are also available.

Lesson Plans

A calcium education program for girls ages 11-14 called Calcium! Do You Get It? is available from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Search the Utah Education Network for nutrition education lesson plans related to calcium for all grades.

Download the lesson plan, Milk and Calcium from the Louisiana State University Ag Center.

Exercise Your Options for Stronger Bones from the Dairy Council of California has students evaluate their calcium intake and bone-strengthening physical activity and make plans for improvement.

Jumpstart Your Bones curriculum from Rutgers University: The State University of New Jersey, is a school-based osteoporosis prevention curriculum available for purchase or free download that is designed for professionals who work with middle-school students. Users must register to view curriculum information on the web site.

Power Point Presentations

Diet and Disease – Osteoporosis from the University of Missouri Outreach and Extension

Boning Up on Osteoporosis from the Midwest Dairy Council

Nutrition and Osteoporosis from the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County

Recipes

I Love Cheese from the American Dairy Association

Featured Recipes or www.3aday.org provides a searchable database full of tasty recipes using milk, cheese or yogurt.

Contact Us

Team Nutrition Project Director
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
PO Box 570
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0570

Telephone: 573-522-2820

Email: info@dhss.mo.gov