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 bon e 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 sev eral authors. Reported mean daily calcium intake was 573 mg +/- 290. On ave rage 82% of the adolescents did not meet two-thirds of the Al for calcium. A higher percentage of rural than urban youngsters reported inadequate calc ium intake (92% and 75% respectively, p=0.000). Likewise a higher percentag e of girls (91%) than boys (77%) reported marginal calcium intake, This stu dy shows evidence that nutritional interventions and educational strategies are urgent for increasing calcium consumption among adolescents in order t o reduce the future burden of osteoporosis in old age.