In the year 2 000 the Brazilian population will be about 14 million old citizens and osteoporosis will affect 3 in 20 Brazilian women. The prevention of osteoporosis consists of maximizing the peak of bone mass genetically determined (that occurs from 25 to 30 years old), maintaining this achieved bone mass throughout adulthood and losing the minimum in old ages. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the calcium intake by adolescents from the city of Osasco (São Paulo, Brazil), looking forward to osteoporosis prevention. The food intake of 323 schoolchildren in the 5th and 8th grades from 8 schools located in the central and peripheral areas of the city was evaluated. The mean of the 3 alternate days dietary records was calculated. The mean daily intake of calcium and the calcium percentage from dairy foods were not significantly different for men and women. Only 6.2% of the men and 2.8% of the women consumed above 1 200 mg/d of dietary calcium. There were significant differences in the energy and calcium intake and in the percentage of calcium from dairy foods and the mineral density of the diet in relation to the geographic areas. The mean calcium intake of the quarter of the population that showed the highest consumption (1 015 mg/d) did not meet the daily recommendation of 1200 mg. Milk was the dairy food that most of the adolescents referred to, but the quantities differed according to gender; women took 190 ml/day and men 240 ml. The calcium intake of these adolescents was well below the present recommendations and so is the mineral density of their diets. It would be desirable an intake of, at least, 550 mgCa/1 000 Kcal to reach the daily recommendations. An effort should be made, by health professionals, to raise the intake of calcium-rich foods looking forward to the prevention of osteoporosis and its consequences.
calcium; adolescent; osteoporosis; prevention & control
