The occurrence of obesity or overweight is getting almost epidemic proportions nowadays and it is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes and increased incidence of diseases.
A link between the excessive body weight and the incidence of
malignant cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases is becoming
more obvious. This makes an increased interest in the impact of
diet and certain foodstuffs on body mass control and general health
understandable.
In the past few years a large number of preclinical and clinical
studies conducted worldwide indicated a possible link between the
intake of dietary calcium and maintenance of adequate body weight,
even loss of extra pounds.
Several studies published in a scientific journal called
International Journal of Obesity suggest that a sufficient calcium
intake can result in a reduced waist circumference, body mass index
and fat mass in general, and consequently affect the achievement
and maintenance of adequate body weight. The same journal presented
some clinical evidence explaining the weight loss mechanism
triggered by dietary calcium intake. According to this evidence,
calcium can reduce the body mass by binding the fats from digestive
system and by increasing their degradation and elimination from the
body.
The story about the role of calcium in reducing body weight has
developed one step further; several studies have been published
according to which calcium from dairy products leads to the best
results. People who have three to four servings of dairy products a
day have achieved better results in reducing and maintaining body
weight than person who use other calcium sources, such as calcium
supplements or calcium additives.
A clinical trial conducted by researchers at the University of
Tennessee has shown that perhaps the results in fat reduction
depend more on the sources of calcium than on the amount of
calcium. Throughout a period of 24 weeks subjects were subjected to
three different types of diets: the first group was characterized
by a low intake of dietary calcium (1 serving of dairy products per
day or less), the second group had a high intake of dairy calcium
(3-4 servings of milk and dairy products per day) was high, and the
third type of diet was characterized by a low intake of dairy
products, but a high intake of calcium through supplements.
The best results, accompanied by the reduction of body weight
and loss of body fat, were achieved in people whose consumption
over the 24 weeks was characterized by a high intake of calcium via
milk and dairy products.