Calcium: beneficial for weight loss
A diet rich in calcium promotes weight loss, according to a study conducted by Angelo Tremblay of the Faculty of Medicine at Laval University.
Professor Tremblay's team demonstrated that calcium consumption reduces spontaneous food intake in people whose current diet contains little of this element.
The authors of the study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition in March 2009, subjected 63 obese women to a 15-week weight loss program. The participants consumed, on average, less than 600 mg of calcium per day while the generally recommended amount is 1000 mg. In addition to following a calorie-reduced diet, the women were required to take either two placebo tablets or two tablets totaling 1200 mg of calcium daily.
At the end of the program, the researchers found that on average the women in the calcium group had lost nearly 6 kg compared to 1 kg for the women in the control group.
"Our hypothesis is that the brain is able to perceive a calcium deficiency and seeks to compensate for it by stimulating food intake, which, of course, does not promote the success of a weight loss diet," comments Angelo Tremblay, Canada Research Chair in Environment and Energy Balance. "A sufficient intake of calcium would prevent this increase in the desire to eat," continues the researcher. People who undertake a weight-loss program should therefore make sure they consume enough calcium in order to put all the chances on their side.
According to the researcher, more than 50% of obese women attending his research team's clinic do not consume the recommended daily dose.
Latest in a series of studies
Professor Tremblay and his team have been studying the link between calcium and obesity for several years. Their first results, published in 2003, showed that women who eat a low-calcium diet have a higher percentage of fat, waist circumference and bad cholesterol than those who eat a moderate or high calcium intake.
A second study, which spanned six years, showed that as participants reduced their dairy intake over that time, their weight, body fat and waist circumference increased.
In 2007, Angelo Tremblay and his team established a direct link between calcium and an improvement in the cardiovascular risk profile of people on a weight loss diet.
Source : ServiceVie.com
By Catherine Crépeau , editor , Montreal, Canada