CHICAGO – Doctors should evaluate children for the amount of calcium they get and encourage them to exercise to help prevent an epidemic of broken bones later in life, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises.
National data show that most American children over age 8 don’t get enough calcium, a deficiency that increases their risks for developing osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease, in adulthood, the academy said in a report released to be released today in the journal Pediatrics.
Calcium is needed for bone formation, and weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones. For children, it could include soccer, basketball, running, essentially any activity in which the arms or legs bear the body’s weight.
“You can take all the calcium you want, but if you don’t do any weight-bearing activity, you don’t have good bone health,” said report co-author Dr. Frank Greer, a member of the academy’s nutrition committee and pediatrics professor at the University of Wisconsin.
U.S. youngsters are deficient in both for several reasons, Greer said. They drink soft drinks instead of milk or calcium-fortified juice; they’re spending more time on TV, computers and video games instead of exercising; and many schools have phased out organized physical activities.
The Pediatrics report recommends that doctors screen for calcium intake and bone health three times during childhood: at age 2 to 3 after weaning from breast milk or formula; at age 8 to 9, before the adolescent growth spurt; and again during puberty or teen years, when the peak rate of bone mass growth occurs.
Screening can include simple questions about diet, milk consumption, amount of exercise, bone fractures and family history of osteoporosis, the report said.
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