Evaluation Of Calcium Methodology And Intake In Australia

Assessment Methods for Calcium Intake in Australia

Just like it does with other food components, calcium plays a significant role in the diet, both for children and adults. It is rightly in order that any child, adolescent, or adult take a recommended amount of calcium as this not only contributes to the overall well-being of the body but also protects the body from the adverse effects that would otherwise result from calcium deficit. This essay takes a look at the Australian dietary calcium intake, compares it to the Nutrient Reference Values with specific focus on the Estimated Average Requirement, the Recommended Daily Intake, and Upper Level, and further gives an evaluation of calcium’s health implications.

In order to realize a good diet and consumption of recommended dosage of nutrients, various countries have employed a number of assessment methods. These methods, in most cases, are grouped into three, notably: Individual data, household data, and the national food supply data (Fao.org¹). Based on the individual data, Australian Health Survey further synchronized into five distinct applicable sub-methods. The first being food record which is alternatively known as food diary. In this case, the subject is expected to give a report of all calcium foods consumed over a given span of time. The second sub-method in this case is the 24-hour recall of dietary in which the subject is expected to recount on the calcium-rich foods consumed over the past 24 hours. Food frequency questionnaire is the third sub-method. In this case, a structured listing of individual food or food grouping is maintained. The other two sub-methods in this case are the questionnaires for food habit and history of diets. The second method which, in essence, focuses on the household calcium consumption, is known as household data. In this case, the data collected is used to compare the calcium consumption in different families making up a community. The final method known as the national food supply data, utilizes stuff like data of food disappearance and the balance sheet of food to give an estimation of availability of calcium commodities nationally.

A closer view of Australia indicates that the vast majority do not attain the minimum serves recommended for the five various groups of meals and as such, does not align with the Australian Dietary Guidelines of the year 2013. As stated by Louise Gates, the ABS Director of Health, hardly 10% of the Australian children and adults meet the recommended servings of dairy products with only one out of every seven Australians consuming the right serving of lean meat or its alternatives on a daily basis (Australian Bureau of Statistics²). Based on gender, a higher number of female children and adolescents in Australia do not get the recommended calcium serving as compared to their male counterparts. Australian Bureau of Statistics² reports that 51% male and 73% female Australians from age 2 and above do not get their Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) serving for calcium. Based on this, ABS asserts that the males consumed extra 0.3 calcium compared the females within the age bracket of 14-18. Whereas ADG recommends  consumption of calcium by adolescents aged between 12-18 years, a closer comparison of the consumption of the same indicates that 10% were able to consume dairy products and their alternatives to meet the desired recommendations (Australian Bureau of Statistics²). Comparatively, a 43% children aged between 2-8 years were able to meet the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of calcium, and another 6.4% of those aged above 9 years meeting the recommended serving too. Further statistics by ADG that groups the children and adolescents into the ages of 2-3, 4-8, 9-11, 12-13, and 14-18 years  indicates that 70.3%, 26.3%, 12.0%, 3.9%, and 2.5% of males respectively met the recommendation. This compares to 60.3%, 40.2%, 3.9%, 1.8%, and 0.5% of their female counterparts in the aforementioned age groups (Australian Bureau of Statistics²). On average, 65% of children aged between 2-3 years were reported to consume the recommended 1.5 servings of the products of dairy or their alternatives on a daily basis. This is inclusive of the 20% that consumes more than 2.5 servings of the same daily. 23% of the 35% who never met the recommended serving were reported to consume amounts that were half a serving or less below the recommendation. From the data, it is also clear that there is a general trend in reduced consumption of calcium as age increases. The table below shows an analysis of calcium intake in boys and girls in the age bracket 14-18, the EAR, RDI, and UL.

Comparison to Nutrient Reference Values

From the table above, it is quite evident that both boys and girls are taking insufficient calcium.

A number of literatures and peer-review journals have been developed to create awareness on the effects of insufficient calcium in the diets of children and adolescents. One such journal is known as the National Academies Press that addresses the behavior of eating in children and adolescents as well as the heath concerns related to nutrition. The National Youth Academies Press³ maintains that it is physical inactivity and poor diet observation that result into imbalance, hence causing obesity.  In addition to the National Youth Academies Press, Elsevier⁵ also gives evidence-based approach to the effects of calcium deficiency. It empirically addresses the effects of supplementing short-term calcium both in children and adolescents. Finally, Gateway⁸ crowns this list of peer-journals by laying emphasis on the importance of equipping the caregivers with important skills giving the recommended servings of calcium to infants, children and the adolescents. As a matter of fact, it also lays emphasis on the adverse effects that come along with the inefficient serving of calcium to the aforementioned. These effects, in most cases, are attached to the body skeleton which plays a significant role in the body.

Generally, calcium plays a significant role in bone formation as well as maintenance of healthy bones. The improper consumption of the same warranties defects to the bones. According to The National Youth Academies Press³, low supply of calcium to the body results into degeneration of the bone tissues and low mass of the bone which eventually causes a complex disorder known as Osteoporosis. DHHS⁴ justifies that a whooping 10 million Americans suffer from this disorder. Loc cit., DHHS⁴ argues that owing to the fact that there is an expected looming increase in the number of patients with this condition, those with hip fracture are likely to triple by the year 2040. The argument on Osteoporosis given by The National Youth Academies Press is similarly echoed by Esevier⁵ that claims that Phenylketonuria patients have always experienced the occurrence of osteopenia risk and bone mineral density reduction. Based on this assessment, the outcome was that upon the supplementation of calcium, the levels of AD-SoS significantly increased (Esevier⁵, Porta et al.⁶ & Koura et al.⁷).  As contended by Gateway⁸, the human skeleton exhibits approximately 99% of the total calcium in the body. In part, arguments are that lack of understanding of the regulatory requirements that practically maintain the calcium level of serum may result into unintentional poor health conditions in infants and children at different levels (National Institute of Health Consensus Conference⁹). In support for this fact, the Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board10 emphasize that various dietary constituents as well as generic viability do affect the calcium levels. This further justifies the fact that these levels need to be strictly observed as extremities in this case could have severe effects.

In conclusion, calcium greatly plays an important role in the overall wellness of children’s growth and development. As opposed to the Estimate Average Requirement, however, a considerably larger number of Australian children and adolescents are under served with calcium-rich food stuff. This is also justifiable with regard to the American statistics. Conditions such as Osteoporosis, which result from calcium deficiency, could be greatly reduced if a close observation is made to calcium consumptions at different levels of growth. The data giving the variations on the uptake of calcium, as given by the Australian Health Survey, should be considered as a true reflection of inefficient calcium consumption not only in Australia but also the other parts of the world.

References

org. Methods of Monitoring Food and Nutrient Intake. Available from https://www.fao.org/docrep/x0243e/x0243e05.htm#P422_45910. [Accessed 10^thAugust 2018].

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Health Survey: Consumption of Food Groups from the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Australia: Embargo. 2016, 4364.0.55.012.

The National Youth Academies Press. Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way toward Healthier Youth. 2007, https://www.nap.edu/read/11899/chapter/4.

Effects of Calcium Deficiency. 2004.

Effects of Short-term Calcium Supplementation in Children and Adolescents with Phenylketonuria. Brazil: University of Sao Paulo, 2017.

Porta F, Roato I, Mussa A, et al. Increased Spontaneous Oestogenesis from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Phenyliketurnia.2008, Doi: 10.1007/s10545-008-0907-9.

Koura et al. A Long Term Study of Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Phenyliketurnia under Diet Therapy. 2011, Arch Med Sci 7(3): 493-500. Doi: 10.5114/aoms.2011.23417.

Calcium Requirements for Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Available from https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/104/5/1152. [Accessed 10^thAugust 2018]

National Institute of Health Consensus Conference. NIH consensus development panel on optimal calcium intake.272:1942–1948.

Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1997.

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