Fat mass gain is lower in calcium-supplemented than in unsupplemented preschool children with low dietary calcium intakes

Abstract

Background: Dietary calcium may play a role in the stimulation of lipolysis and the inhibition of lipogenesis, thereby reducing body fat. Objective: The aim was to determine whether an association existed between change in percentage body fat (%BF) or fat mass and calcium intake in children aged 3\u965 y. Design: A secondary analysis of a 1-y randomized calcium and activity trial in 178 children was conducted. Three-day diet records and 48-h accelerometer readings were obtained at 0, 6, and 12 mo. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at 0 and 12 mo. Results: The decrease in %BF was less in girls (\u960.6 \ub1 2.8%) than in boys (\u961.5 \ub1 2.6%; P =3D 0.03) and correlated with age (r =3D 0.19, P =3D 0.01) and maternal body mass index (r =3D 0.19, P =3D 0.02). Changes in fat mass were not significantly different by activity group or between children randomly assigned to receive calcium or placebo (0.5 \ub1 0.9 and 0.6 \ub1 0.8 kg, respectively; P =3D 0.32). Similar findings were observed for the change in %BF. No correlations between %BF and fat mass changes and dietary calcium (r =3D \u960.01, P =3D 0.9 and r =3D \u960.05, P =3D 0.5) or total (dietary + supplement) calcium intake (r =3D \u960.02, P =3D 0.8 and r =3D \u960.06, P =3D 0.4) were observed. Among children in the lowest tertile of dietary calcium (<821 mg/d), fat mass gain was lower in the calcium group (0.3 \ub1 0.5 kg) than in the placebo group (0.8 \ub1 1.1 kg) (P =3D 0.04) but was not correlated with mean total calcium intake (r =3D \u960.20). Conclusion: These findings support a weak relation between changes in fat mass gain and calcium intake in preschool children, who typically consume below recommended amounts of dietary calcium