Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #209272
Title: Calcium balance in 1-4-y-old children

Author
item LYNCH, MARY - BAYLOR COLLEGE MED
item Griffin, Ian
item HAWTHORNE, KELI - BAYLOR COLLEGE MED
item CHEN, ZHENSHENG - BAYLOR COLLEGE MED
item HAMZO, MARIA - BAYLOR COLLEGE MED
item Abrams, Steven

Submitted to: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2006
Publication Date: 3/3/2007
Citation: Lynch, M.F., Griffin, I.J., Hawthorne, K.M., Chen, Z., Hamzo, M., Abrams, S.A. 2007. Calcium balance in 1-4-y-old children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 85(3):750-754.

Interpretive Summary: Although the amount of calcium for many age groups is known, there are few data about how much calcium toddlers need. We studied the way toddlers absorb calcium from a typical diet. This was done using non-radioactive tracers, called stable isotopes. We found that the amount of calcium the toddlers needed to form bones was absorbed from a diet that had about 500 mg/day of calcium in it. This is the amount currently recommended as an adequate intake for children 1-4 years of age. From our data, we concluded that 500 mg/day was the amount of calcium that could be considered as an estimated average requirement for this age, and that if a recommended dietary allowance was developed, it would probably be about 700 mg/day. From our data, we could not determine what would be the most amount of calcium that could be used in the diet to absorb the most total amount of calcium. In conclusion, we determined that the diets of small children in the US contain an amount of calcium that appears to meet their needs and that the current adequate intake level should be used as an estimated average requirement level when new dietary guidelines are determined.

Technical Abstract: Background: Few calcium balance data are available from young children on which to base dietary recommendations. Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the relation between calcium intake and balance in healthy children aged 1–4 y consuming typical American diets. Design: Subjects were assigned to a diet with nutrient intakes similar to those of their usual diet. Calcium absorption was assessed by using a dual-tracer stable-isotope technique. Endogenous fecal excretion was measured in a subset of children, and net calcium balance was calculated. Results: Mean calcium intake was 551 mg/d (range: 124–983 mg/d), and mean (+/-SEM) calcium retention was 161 +/- 17 mg/d. Both linear and nonlinear modeling of balance data showed that a calcium intake of approximately 470 mg/d led to calcium retention of 140 mg/d, which is the amount that meets expected bone growth needs in children of this age. No evidence was found that calcium intakes of 800 to 900 mg/d reached the threshold intake beyond which no additional increase in calcium retention would occur. Conclusions: Bone growth needs in 1– to 4-y-old children following American diets are met by a daily calcium intake of approximately 470 mg/d, which suggests that the current Adequate Intake of 500 mg/d is close to the actual Estimated Average Requirement. The benefits and risks of higher calcium intakes consistent with threshold values should be evaluated in a controlled trial before those intakes could be used as a basis for dietary recommendations.