TKF Science Writing

Losing weight is on the minds of many as the warmer months start rolling around.  Whether it is to fit into a prom dress, look good on the beach, or just get a bit more healthy, the weight loss fight continues.

Scientists may have found a breakthrough in calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body.  In a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, a diet that boosted calcium intake led to more significant weight loss than its control group.  The study took a sample of obese women and through a 15-week period, had them on a diet of  no more than 600 mg of calcium per day.  The recommended daily allowance of calcium is 1000 mg more or less as depending on age (1,000 mg for 19-50 years old, 1,200 for 51+ years).  In terms of food rich in calcium, the list includes:

•    milk = 1 cup = 300 mg

•    yogurt = 1 cup = 415 mg

•    cheese = 1.5 oz = 300 mg

•    broccoli = 1 cup cooked = 94 mg

•    spinach = 1/2 cup cooked from frozen = 139 mg

•    almonds = 1 oz = 75 mg

In addition to the low calorie diet, the subjects of the weight loss study also consumed two calcium supplements per day equiling 1,200 mg.  The control group were given a placebo and the results were then monitored.  The group that took the calcium supplements lost 13.2 lbs while the control group lost 2.2 lbs. 

One caveat to point out where that the test subjects had a diet that was already calcium deficient so this study does not delve into an already calcium rich diet.

Angelo Tremblay, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Environment and Energy Balance hypothesized that the brain seems to detect a lack of calcium in the body.  This can lead to the desire to eat more stifling weight loss. 

Professor Tremblay’s first foray into the relationship between calcium and weight loss occured in 2003.  He found that women’s diets that were poor in calcium led to more body fat, bigger waistelines, and higher bad cholesterol levels than their higher level counterparts.  Along the same lines, in 2007 Professor Tremblay found a direct correlation between calcium and a lower heart disease risk.