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Effect of Calcium Supplementation on Weight and Fat Loss in Women

Department of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers University (S.A.S.), New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901; and New York Obesity Research Center and Body Composition Unit, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, Institute of Human Nutrition (S.H., S.B.H.), Columbia University, New York, New York 10025

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Steven B. Heymsfield, M.D., New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, 1090 Amsterdam Avenue, 14C, New York, New York 10025. E-mail: sbh2{at}columbia.edu.

Data suggest that a diet deficient in calcium is associated with higher body weight and that augmenting calcium intake may reduce weight and fat gain or enhance loss. Our aim was to determine whether calcium supplementation during a weight loss intervention affects body fat or weight loss. Data were combined from three separate 25-wk randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trials of 1000 mg/d calcium supplementation in 100 premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The primary outcome measures were change in body weight and fat mass adjusted for baseline values.

There were no significant differences in body weight or fat mass change between the placebo and the calcium-supplemented groups in the pooled analysis (adjusted mean ± SE; body weight, placebo -6.2 ± 0.7 vs. Ca -7.0 ± 0.7 kg; fat mass, placebo -4.5 ± 0.6 vs. Ca -5.5 ± 0.6 kg), and no significant interactions of calcium supplementation with menopausal/diet status. Analysis as separate trials also found no significant differences between the placebo and the calcium groups. Calcium supplementation did not significantly affect amount of weight or fat lost by women counseled to follow a moderately restricted diet for 25 wk. Nevertheless, the magnitude and direction of the differences for group means are consistent with a hypothesized small effect.

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants AG12161, DK42618, and DK26687.

Abbreviations: BMI, Body mass index; DXA, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

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