Calcium intake, serum vitamin D and obesity in children: is there an association?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between calcium intake and serum vitamin D levels and childhood obesity by an integrative review. DATA SOURCE: The research was conducted in the databases PubMed/medLine, Science Direct and SciELO with 2001 to 2014 publications. We used the combined terms in En...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kelly Aparecida da Cunha, Elma Izze da Silva Magalhães, Laís Monteiro Rodrigues Loureiro, Luciana Ferreira da Rocha Sant'Ana, Andréia Queiroz Ribeiro, Juliana Farias de Novaes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo 2015-06-01
Series:Revista Paulista de Pediatria
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-05822015000200222&lng=en&tlng=en
Description
Summary:OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between calcium intake and serum vitamin D levels and childhood obesity by an integrative review. DATA SOURCE: The research was conducted in the databases PubMed/medLine, Science Direct and SciELO with 2001 to 2014 publications. We used the combined terms in English: ''children'' and ''calcium'' or ''children'' and ''vitamin D'' associated with the descriptors: ''obesity'', ''adiposity'' or ''body fat'' for all bases. Cross-sectional and cohort studies, as well as clinical trials, were included. Review articles or those that that have not addressed the association of interest were excluded. DATA SYNTHESIS: Eight articles were part of this review, five of which were related to calcium and three to vitamin D. Most studies had a longitudinal design. The analyzed studies found an association between calcium intake and obesity, especially when age and sex were considered. Inverse relationship between serum vitamin D and measures of adiposity in children has been observed and this association was influenced by the sex of the patient and by the seasons of the year. CONCLUSIONS: The studies reviewed showed an association between calcium and vitamin D with childhood obesity. Considering the possible protective effect of these micronutrients in relation to childhood obesity, preventive public health actions should be designed, with emphasis on nutritional education.
ISSN:1984-0462