Nutrition and bone health during skeletal modeling and bone consolidation of childhood and adolescence

Abstract

Bone accretion during childhood is proportional to the rate of growth. During this age interval height velocity is relatively slow for both boys and girls. As a direct consequence of this, retention of calcium in the body of an average child is lower than the calcium retention in an adolescent. Bone size, bone mass, and bone mineral density of the regional skeletal sites increase on average by about 4 %/year from childhood to late adolescence and young adulthood when most of the bone mass will be accumulated. Calcium needs are greater during adolescence (pubertal growth spurt) than in either childhood or adulthood. According to calcium balance studies the threshold intake for adolescents is about 1,500 mg/day. Inadequate calcium intake during growth may increase the risk of childhood fractures and predispose certain individuals to a lower peak bone mass.