Dietary calcium intake by a group of 13 18-year-old Costa Rican teenagers

Calcium intake is one of the most important predictors of the amount of bone mass gained during growth. Therefore, this study was designed to estimate the dietary calcium intake of Costa Rican urban and rural adolescents ages 13-18 years old. Calcium dietary intake was determined using prospective 3-d diet records. Two-thirds (or 66.7%) or less of the Adequate Intake (AI) was used as the criterion for inadequate calcium intake as suggested by several authors. Reported mean daily calcium intake was 573 mg +/- 290. On average 82% of the adolescents did not meet two-thirds of the Al for calcium. A higher percentage of rural than urban youngsters reported inadequate calcium intake (92% and 75% respectively, p = 0.000). Likewise a higher percentage of girls (91%) than boys (77%) reported marginal calcium intake. This study shows evidence that nutritional interventions and educational strategies are urgent for increasing calcium consumption among adolescents in order to reduce the future burden of osteoporosis in old age.