Dietary Calcium Intake and The Prevalence of Calcium Supplement Use Among Well-Educated Women

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To propagate among women the consumption of adequate dietary calcium to prevent osteoporosis. More women are seeking advice about calcium supplementation as awareness of osteoporosis increases. The purposes of this study were to determine the calcium content of women's diets to see if the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) was being met and to find out the prevalence of calcium supplement use. Subjects included 19 women between the ages of 27 and 61 years, recruited from the general population of the San Francisco Bay Area and were considered well-educated, middle to upper-middle-class community-dwelling individuals. Data collection methods consisted of a 3-day food record and a personal information questionnaire, including detailed information concerning calcium supplementation use. The records were analyzed for calcium content using Nutritionist III software. Subjects were divided into two age groups (27 to 45 and 45 to 61). Among all women in the study, a slightly greater proportion took supplements (53%), than those who did not (47%). The prevalence of supplement use was highest in the older age group (32%) than in the younger age group (21%). From diet, calcium intakes were not affected by age or supplement use, however, intake values tended to be higher in younger women. The mean intake for calcium was 790.2±245 mg.The percentage of unsupplemented women with intakes below two thirds of the RDA of 800 mg/day was 50% in women younger than 45, and 50% in women older than 45, which is the critical perimenopausal age when the rate of bone loss is greatest. From diet among those who took supplements, the percent below two thirds of the RDA ranged from 33% (in the younger age group) to 67% (in the older age group), averaging 50%. In conclusion, the findings show that several well-educated women do not consume diets with adequate amounts of calcium. The benefits and ease of taking calcium supplements to meet the RDA seem without question a simple intervention in the prevention of osteoporosis, suggesting a need for nutrition counseling.