Calcium and osteoporosis
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Twenty-one percent (367) of 1,743 women surveyed take calcium supplements, although 92% had heard of osteoporosis and 24.7% had been tested for it, according to results of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's 1997 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey released June 11. Of the 358 women asked how often they take calcium, 68.6% said every day, 15.2% responded some days and 16.3% answered less than half the month. The survey found that 3.8% of those questioned have been told they have osteoporosis. People "are aware of osteoporosis, but aren't making lifestyle choices to prevent the disease," the DPH osteoporosis awareness program says. Recommended calcium intake for adults under the Food & Nutrition Board's new Dietary Reference Intakes, issued in August 1997, are 1,000-1,200 mg daily, depending on age ("The Tan Sheet" Aug. 18, 1997, pp. 14-16)...