I remember reading an article that suggested that a regular, daily dose of calcium helped people burn stored fat more readily. Of course I ran right out and bought up tons of bottles of Tums© Super Strength in a variety of flavors.
Yeah, I'm a sucker for a quick fix, sometimes.
I recently subscribed to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association because it may contain articles of interest regarding nutrition as it relates to weight maintenance and overall health. One of the abstracts posted there grabbed my interest, because it dealt with calcium intake and obesity.
The conclusion of the abstract (the full text of the abstract is in the extended portion of this article) was that the researchers could find no association between calcium intake and body size.
The study involved people with extremely, extremely high intake of high fat foods. They did not mention if these people (men, women, and children) were active or sedentary. They just fed 'em calcium and measured them.
My conclusion? Skinny peeps cannot lose weight by calcium alone.
So. Anyone wanna buy a bunch of as-yet-unopened bottles of Tums©?
Abstract
Objective
Dietary calcium intake, especially from dairy products, may have a protective effect against obesity. This study aimed to determine if calcium intake is associated with body weight and adiposity in Pima Indians, an obesity-prone population.
Research Methods and Procedures
Subjects were 65 Pima Indian adults (35 men/30 women, age 33±8 years [mean±standard deviation]) participating in a study of eating behavior and 78 Pima Indian children (36 boys/42 girls, age 10.4±0.3 years) participating in a study of childhood obesity. Height and weight were measured, and body composition was determined by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Food intake in adults was assessed using the Block 1998 Food Questionnaire; food intake in children was assessed using a 24-hour recall with parental assistance.
Results
In adults, mean energy intake was 3,163±1,037 kcal/day, mean percentage of energy from fat was 41%±7%, and calcium intake was 914±333 mg/day. In children, mean energy intake was 1,988±733 kcal/day, mean percentage of energy from fat was 36%±9%, and calcium intake was 637±352 mg/day, half the recommended daily intake for this age group. There were no significant associations between calcium intake and body weight (r=0.05, P=.71; r=0.04, P=.73), body fat (r=0.16, P=.19; r=0.12, P=.42), or body mass index (r=0.01, P=.97; r=0.04, P=.77) in either adults or children, respectively.
Discussion
One explanation for the lack of association between reported calcium intake and body size in Pima Indians may be that the high-fat, high-energy diet consumed by the population overwhelmed the “anti-obesigenic” effect of calcium.
Conclusions
We were unable to find an association between calcium intake and body size or adiposity in Pima Indian adults and children. Although the essentiality of calcium to bone health is well established, the role of calcium and dairy product intake in obesity and weight management remains uncertain.
