Effects of calcium, dairy product, and vitamin D supplementation on bone mass accrual and body composition in 10-12-y-old girls: a 2-y randomized trial

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the relative effectiveness of calcium supplementation from food or pills with or without vitamin D supplementation for bone mass accrual during the rapid growth period. OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to examine the effects of both food-based and pill supplements of calcium and vitamin D on bone mass and body composition in girls aged 10-12 y. DESIGN: This placebo-controlled intervention trial randomly assigned 195 healthy girls at Tanner stage I-II, aged 10-12 y, with dietary calcium intakes 50%. With the use of a hierarchical linear model with random effects to control for growth velocity, these differences disappeared. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing calcium intake by consuming cheese appears to be more beneficial for cortical bone mass accrual than the consumption of tablets containing a similar amount of calcium. Diverse patterns of growth velocity may mask the efficacy of supplementation in a short-term trial of children transiting through puberty.