Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and fat mass loss in female very low-calcium consumers: potential link with a calcium-specific appetite control.

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to compare the effect of a 15-week weight-reducing programme ( -2900 kJ/d) coupled with a calcium plus vitamin D (calcium+D) supplementation (600 mg elemental calcium and 5 microg vitamin D, consumed twice a day) or with a placebo, on body fat and on spontaneous energy/macronutrient intake. Sixty-three overweight or obese women (mean age 43 years, mean BMI 32 kg/m2) reporting a daily calcium intake < 800 mg participated in present study. Anthropometric variables, resting energy expenditure and spontaneous energy intake were measured before and after the 15-week programme. The calcium+D supplementation induced no statistically significant increase in fat mass loss in response to the programme. However, when analyses were limited to very low-calcium consumers only (initial calcium intake < or =600 mg/d, n 7 for calcium+D, n 6 for placebo), a significant decrease in body weight and fat mass (P < 0.01) and in spontaneous dietary lipid intake (P < 0.05) was observed in the calcium+D but not in the placebo group. In very low-calcium consumers, change in fat mass was positively correlated with change in lipid intake. During the weight-reducing programme, a calcium+D supplementation was necessary in female overweight/obese very low-calcium consumers to reach significant fat mass loss that seemed to be partly explained by a decrease in lipid intake. We propose that this change in lipid intake could be influenced by a calcium-specific appetite control.

Supplementation with calcium + vitamin D enhances the beneficial effect of weight loss on plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations.

BACKGROUND: Adequate calcium intake can have a favorable effect on some metabolic variables. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine the effects of daily calcium intake and of supplementation with calcium and vitamin D (calcium+D) during a weight-loss intervention on blood pressures, plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, and glucose and insulin concentrations in low calcium consumers. DESIGN: Healthy, overweight or obese women (n = 63) with a daily calcium intake of < 800 mg/d were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to 1 of 2 groups: the group consuming 2 tablets/d of a calcium + vitamin D supplement (600 mg elemental calcium and 200 IU vitamin D/tablet) or the group consuming placebo; both groups observed a 700 kcal/d energy restriction. These 63 women then completed a 15-wk weight-loss intervention. RESULTS: Initial daily calcium intake was significantly correlated with plasma HDL cholesterol (r = 0.41, P < 0.001) and with 2-h postload glycemia (r = -0.29, P < 0.05) during an oral-glucose-tolerance test, independent of fat mass and waist circumference. After the 15-wk intervention, significantly greater decreases in total:LDL and LDL:HDL (P < 0.01 for both) and of LDL cholesterol (P < 0.05) were observed in the calcium+D group than in the placebo group. The differences in total:HDL and LDL:HDL were independent of changes in fat mass and in waist circumference. A tendency for more beneficial changes in HDL cholesterol, triacylglycerol, and total cholesterol was also observed in the calcium+D group (P = 0.08). CONCLUSION: Consumption of calcium+D during a weight-loss intervention enhanced the beneficial effect of body weight loss on the lipid and lipoprotein profile in overweight or obese women with usual low daily calcium intake.