QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Anderson, J. J. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Anderson, J. J. B.

Calcium, Phosphorus and Human Bone Development¹

Department of Nutrition, Schools of Public Health and Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Calcium intakes by girls and adult females should approximate or exceed the Recommended Dietary Allowances so that peak bone mass can be achieved during early adulthood and bone mass can be maintained thereafter until the menopause. Investigations of the relationship between dietary calcium consumption and measurements of bone mass or density strongly support the contention that adequate intakes of calcium by females contribute to greater values of bone mass through adolescence and into adulthood. Prospective studies have especially been robust in support of this relationship. Inadequate calcium intakes early in life may lead to low bone mass because of several possibilities. Three potential mechanisms for the development of low bone mass are proposed, and in all a role for elevated parathyroid hormone is emphasized. A likely mechanism contributing to low bone mass in the United States involves a low calcium:high phosphorus intake ratio, but this possibility has not been adequately tested with a prospective design. Future investigations are needed to address the etiologic risk factors influencing less than optimal development of bone mass in females living in affluent nations.

KEY WORDS: • diet • calcium • phosphorus • parathyroid hormone • human females • bone development

¹ Presented as part of the Symposium: "Nutritional Advances in Human Bone Metabolism" given at the Experimental Biology '95 meeting, Atlanta, GA, on April 11, 1995. This symposium was sponsored by the American Institute of Nutrition and supported in part by the National Dairy Council. Guest editor for the symposium publication was John J. B. Anderson, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Matlik, D. Savaiano, G. McCabe, M. VanLoan, C. L. Blue, and C. J. Boushey Perceived Milk Intolerance Is Related to Bone Mineral Content in 10- to 13-Year-Old Female Adolescents Pediatrics, September 1, 2007; 120(3): e669 - e677. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]