Other Effects of Calcium on Healthy Weight
In addition to its role on on intracellular calcium levels and fat absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, calcium may have an effect on lipid metabolism and on appetite.
A randomized crossover trial that compared calcium from milk products versus calcium intake from supplements on postprandial fat metabolism and appetite demonstrated that increased calcium intakes from milk products significantly attenuate postprandial lipemia, most probably due to reduced fat absorption, whereas calcium carbonate supplements did not exert such an effect.1
In another randomized controlled crossover trial designed to determine whether an increased intake of dietary calcium from milk products would promote increases in 24-hour fat oxidation in 19 adults aged 20 to 50 years, a dairy-based, high-calcium diet increased 24-hour fat oxidation when subjects were in an acute state of energy deficit.2
Emerging research also indicates a possible involvement for calcium in appetite control.3 A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that compared calcium plus vitamin D supplements with placebo for 15 weeks in a weight-reducing program involving 63 overweight or obese women (mean age 43 years) demonstrated a significant decrease in body weight, fat mass and dietary-lipid intake in women with very low intakes of calcium at baseline (i.e., habitual calcium intake ≤ 600 mg/day). The authors concluded that the change in dietary fat intake could be influenced by calcium-specific appetite control.
References
- Lorensen JK et al. Effect of dairy calcium or supplementary calcium intake on postprandial fat metabolism, appetite, and subsequent energy intake. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85: 678-687.
- Melanson EL et al. Effect of low and high-calcium dairy-based diets on macronutrient oxidation in humans. Obes Res 2005;13:2102-2112.
- Major GC et al. Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and fat mass loss in female very low calcium consumers: potential link with a calcium-specific appetite control. Br J Nutr 2009;101:659-663.
Keywords: healthy weight, health studies
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