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Many US children don't get adequate calcium -report
Last Updated: 2006-02-06 10:30:27 -0400 (Reuters Health)
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Many American children do not consume enough milk or other calcium-rich foods like yogurt and cheese that build strong bones, a report said on Monday.
A calcium deficiency -- whether blamed on children's finicky diets or teenagers choosing soft drinks instead of milk -- could pose risks later on of broken bones or osteoporosis, according to the report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Maintaining adequate calcium intake during childhood and adolescence is necessary for the attainment of peak bone mass, which may be important in reducing the risk of fractures and osteoporosis later in life," co-authors Frank Greer and Nancy Krebs wrote in the academy's journal, Pediatrics.
Among U.S. children only infants born at term are receiving the recommended calcium intake in the first six months of life.
Just one out of 10 adolescent girls consumes the recommended daily calcium intake of 1,300 milligrams per day, the report said, blaming excessive consumption of soft drinks or fruit drinks instead of milk.
Between the ages of 12 and 19, children generally consume between 700 and 1,000 milligrams a day -- well under recommended levels.
Calcium is particularly important during early adolescence when more of the mineral is needed during a three- to four-year period when peak bone growth occurs and 40 percent of total lifetime bone mass is accumulated, the report said.
Low bone mass has also been shown to contribute to fractures in children, it said.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, February 2006.
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