http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=665
"Exercise, Some Calcium Build Strong Bones- Report", Reuters UK, March
7, 2005,
Link:
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=WT14MCAGNRZQICRBAEZSFEY?type=healthNews&storyID=7820781
Children who drink more milk do not necessarily develop healthier
bones, researchers said on Monday in a report that stresses exercise
and modest consumption of calcium-rich foods such as tofu.
The U.S. government has gradually increased recommendations for daily
calcium intake, largely from dairy products, to between 800 and 1,300
milligrams to promote healthy bones and prevent osteoporosis. But the
report, published in the journal Pediatrics, said boosting consumption
of milk or other dairy products was not necessarily the best way to
provide the minimal calcium intake of at least 400 milligrams per day.
Other ways to obtain the absorbable calcium found in one cup of cow's
milk include a cup of fortified orange juice, a cup of cooked kale or
turnip greens, two packages of instant oats, two-thirds cup of tofu, or
1-2/3 cups of broccoli, the report said.
In a review of 37 studies examining the impact of calcium consumption
on bone strength in children older than 7, researchers at the
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington found 27
did not support drinking more milk to boost calcium.
"Currently, available evidence does not support nutrition guidelines
focused specifically on increasing milk or other dairy product intake
for promoting child and adolescent bone mineralization," lead
researcher Amy Lanou wrote.
Several studies, which examined such factors as bone density and rate
of fractures, concluded that exercise may be more important than
increased calcium consumption in developing strong bones.
Data was scarce on the effect of calcium intake for children younger
than 7 years.
Dairy products provide 18 percent of the total energy and 25 percent of
the total fat intake in the diets of American children, who are
developing increasing rates of obesity.
In an accompanying commentary, Frank Greer, a pediatrician at the
University of Wisconsin in Madison, said the ideal way to achieve the
goal of healthy bones is to make sure children exercise and consume up
to 1,300 milligrams a day of calcium.
The easiest way to get that calcium is from low-fat dairy products,
which also contain valuable nutrients such as vitamin D, which is
generally not available from other dietary sources, he wrote.