Calcium: the size of girls and women tied to the efficiency of absorption

The size of girls and women appears to be associated with the capacity of absorption of calcium , according to the results of two studies published in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ."
Understanding the link between calcium absorption and growth remains limited. Reaching a peak bone mass in adolescence is recognized as a factor in reducing the risk of osteoporosis. However, over 80 % of American girls do not consume the minimum recommended amounts of calcium . However since come to increase the size of the skeleton , the hypothesis of an increase in the efficiency of the mechanism of calcium absorption was issued.

Steven Abrams, the research center for child nutrition in Houston (Texas, USA) , and colleagues used data from the measured absorption in calcium 315 girls aged 5 to 15 years to assess the link between the absorption efficiency and size.

Their results indicate that size is significantly associated with calcium absorption after adjusting the data for age , gender, ethnicity and other factors. About 3 to 3.5% of the variability in absorption performance between individuals may be associated with size .

This study demonstrates that the mechanism of calcium absorption is regulated according to the programmed skeletal size of the individual, an inherited trait , written in the genes .

The size and the adjusted value of ( height Z- score) are kind , according to this study , predictors of the effectiveness of calcium absorption in girls during childhood and adolescence.

Early identification of adolescents at risk for osteoporosis , based on different criteria such as sex , size, or family history of osteoporosis, would eventually propose a monitoring and appropriate treatment.

A second study by Janet Barger -Lux and Robert Heaney of Creighton University ( USA) in 178 women with a mean age of 50.2 years , showed that the size, weight and body mass were associated with efficiency of calcium absorption.

The variability associated with the size represent 4% of the total variability in absorption between individuals performance.

Thus, a woman measuring 1m80 absorb 30% more calcium than a woman 1.40m for the same amount of calcium consumed.