Does nutrition education impact calcium intake and bone mineral density in children

The purpose of this study was to determine if nutritional education provides enough of a stimulus to cause an increase in calcium intake and bone density. The intervention group consisted of 26 students, the control consisted of 92 students. Nutrition education was provided to the intervention participants two times per month for two academic years. Calcium intake and bone mineral density (BMD) were assessed at baseline and 20 months. Mean calcium intake at baseline for the nutrition education and control groups were 1314 and 1219mg/day, respectively. At 20 months the nutrition education and control groups were 1536 and 1287mg/day, respectively. Mean lumbar BMD at baseline for the nutrition education and control groups were .744 (SD ± .095) and .754 (SD ± .094), respectively. At 20 months the nutrition education and control groups were .821 (SD ± .125) and .837 (SD ± .128), respectively. Mean femoral neck BMD at baseline for the nutrition education and control groups were .810 (SD ± .019) and .783 (SD ± .011), respectively. At 20 months the nutrition education and control groups were .871 (SD ± .022) and .868 (SD ± .013) respectively.