Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy
Open Access

Abstract

In recent years, several studies have reported a positive relationship between calcium intakes and weight loss, the highest the calcium
intakes, the highest the weight loss. This association has shown in children, men, and younger and older women. Researchers
calculated that a 300-mg increase in daily calcium intake was associated with a 3kg difference in body weight (BW). The effect of
higher calcium intake on BW is stronger in subjects with a larger fat mass. Two possible physiological mechanisms explained this
relation. First: in cell cultures of human adipocytes, increasing 1,25(OH)2D levels can increase lipogenesis and decrease lipolysis. The
concentration of 1,25(OH)2D increases when calcium intake is decreased. Second mechanism is fat binding in the gut; increasing
dietary calcium intake increases the calcium concentration in the intestine, which in turn induces formation of insoluble fatty acid
and bile acid soaps that are excreted through the feces, thus decreasing the amount of dietary fat available for oxidation and/or storage.
In clinical trials, increasing dietary calcium intake by 905–4,000/ day increased fecal fat excretion by up to 8.2 g per day. Moreover,
diets containing high amounts of proteins and calcium have shown to decrease BW. Nevertheless, studies reported a greater reduction
in BMI when calcium is derived from dairy products rather than from supplements. Finally, there may be a threshold for calcium
intake (800 mg/day) above which no additive beneficial effect exists. Some researchers believe that suboptimal calcium intake may
increase the risk of developing obesity.

Biography

Mohamed Saleh Ismail has completed his PhD from Minufiya University, Egypt. He has supervised 14 PhD and 26 Master theses in the field of human and clinical nutrition;
also he published more than 20 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as a reviewer in several reputed journals e.g. Nutrition and Dietetics, Journal of Public
Health etc. In addition, he translated three books from English to Arabic (Principles of Nutritional Assessment, Nutrition and Immunity in Human, and Simplified Diet Manual).