Elsevier

Nutrition

Volume 22, Issue 5, May 2006, Pages 490-495
Nutrition

Applied nutritional investigation
No relation between intakes of calcium and dairy products and body mass index in Japanese women aged 18 to 20 y

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2005.12.003Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

This cross-sectional study examined possible associations of intakes of calcium and dairy products to body mass index (BMI; kilograms per square meter) in young Japanese women.

Methods

Subjects were 1905 female Japanese dietetic students who were 18 to 20 y of age. Dietary intake was assessed over a 1-mo period with a validated, self-administered diet history questionnaire. BMI was computed by using self-reported weight and height. BMI among quartiles of energy-adjusted intakes (per 1000 kcal) of calcium and dairy products was compared while controlling for intakes of protein, fat, and dietary fiber, self-reported rate of eating, and other non-dietary variables.

Results

Mean BMI ± standard deviation was 20.8 ± 2.6 kg/m2. Mean estimated intakes were 268 ± 93 mg/1000 kcal for calcium and 80 ± 63 g/1000 kcal for dairy products. Intakes of calcium and dairy products were not significantly associated with BMI (adjusted means in the lowest and highest quartiles were 20.7 and 20.8 for calcium, P for trend = 0.48, and 20.6 and 20.6 for dairy products, P for trend = 0.81). These results were also observed after excluding 481 energy under- and over-reporters for calcium (20.4 and 20.5, respectively, P for trend = 0.73) and dairy products (20.3 and 20.4, respectively, P for trend = 0.73).

Conclusions

Intakes of calcium and dairy products may not necessarily be associated with BMI among young Japanese women who not only are relatively lean but also have a relatively low intake of calcium and dairy products.

Introduction

A recently emerging body of literature suggests that the intake of calcium and/or dairy products may protect humans against the development of obesity [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]. A possible theory is that a low calcium intake causes high intracellular calcium concentrations, which in turn promote lipogenesis, inhibit lipolysis, and decrease thermogenesis, whereas a high calcium intake reverses these trends [3]. It seems that the effect of calcium in the form of dairy products may be greater than that of elemental calcium [16]. However, several published reports have not supported the potentially favorable effects of calcium and/or dairy products on measurements of obesity [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22]. Thus, the relation of calcium and/or dairy product intake to obesity remains unclear. In addition, research on this issue has been conducted mainly in Western countries, whereas information is quite limited in non-Western countries including Japan, where the prevalence of obesity and dietary intakes of calcium and dairy products are relatively low [23]. Therefore, we investigated possible associations of intakes of calcium and dairy products with body mass index (BMI) in young Japanese women.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Subjects were students who entered dietetic courses at 22 colleges and technical schools in three of the four main islands of Japan in April 1997 (n = 2069) [24], [25], [26]. A total of 2063 students (2017 women and 46 men) participated in the survey (response rate 99.7%). For statistical analysis, we selected female subjects who were 18 to 20 y of age (n = 1960). We excluded from the 1960 women those who were currently receiving dietary counseling (n = 33), those with an extremely low or high

Results

Basic characteristics of the subjects are presented in Table 1. Mean BMI ± standard deviation of subjects was 20.8 ± 2.6 kg/m2, and mean intakes were 268 ± 93 mg/1000 kcal for calcium and 80 ± 63 g/1000 kcal for dairy products. Potential confounding variables of the subjects are listed in Table 2 according to quartiles of intakes of calcium and dairy products. Among women in the higher quartiles of those intakes, more were defined as physically active and reported recent intentional dietary

Discussion

Using cross-sectional data of relatively lean young Japanese women with relatively low intakes of calcium and dairy products, we found no clear association of intakes of calcium and dairy products with BMI. This finding was consistent regardless of exclusion of implausible energy reporters.

An inverse relation of intakes of calcium and/or dairy products to measurements of obesity has been indicated in a considerable number of case-control [2], cross-sectional [3], [5], [7], [8], [9], [10], [12],

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