Does a Diet fortified with Calcium reduce Body Weight?

Abstract

Recent studies suggest an inverse relationship between dietary calcium intake and body weight. If this premise is true then diets with high levels of calcium should reduce caloric intake or the bioavailability of nutrients and/or raise energy expenditure. We thus investigated the effects of varying levels of dietary calcium on food intakes and metabolic rates in mice. C57BL6J male mice were fed modified AIN 93 M diets with 0.25, 0.5, 1.5 or 2.5 % of calcium for 6 wks. The macronutrient composition of all diets was the same. Body weights and food consumption were recorded daily. Oxygen consumption, as a reflection of metabolic rates was measured every week. Compared to mice fed 0.25 % of dietary calcium, mice fed high (2.5 %) dietary calcium had reduced food intakes and a lower body weight for the first three weeks of the study. After the initial three weeks there was no difference in food intakes between mice on differing calcium diets. Oxygen consumption of mice on the 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 % calcium diets were higher than those on the 0.25 % calcium diet and this increase was sustained for the duration of the study. Variations in dietary calcium can result in modest but significant alterations in body weight. The molecular mechanisms by which dietary calcium increases energy expenditure warrant further investigation. AIN-93G purified rodent diet