Background: Increased dietary calcium is associated with changes in body composition. One proposed mechanism is that dietary calcium increases fat oxidation, potentially via regulation of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentrations.
Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine whether acute or chronic increased dairy calcium intakes alter postprandial whole-body fat oxidation and whether the increased intake is related to changes in PTH concentrations.
Design: Normal-weight women aged 18-30 y were randomly assigned to a low (<800 mg/d, control; n = 10) or high (1000-1400 mg/d; n = 9) dietary calcium intake group for 1 y. Whole-body fat oxidation was assessed by measuring respiratory gas exchange after each subject consumed 2 isocaloric liquid meals containing 100 or 500 mg Ca at baseline and 1 y. Fasting serum PTH was measured at baseline and 1 y.
Results: The mean 1-y change in fat oxidation was higher in the high-calcium group than in the low-calcium control group after a low-calcium meal (0.10 +/- 0.05 compared with 0.005 +/- 0.04 g/min; P < 0.001) and a high-calcium meal (0.06 +/- 0.05 compared with 0.03 +/- 0.04 g/min; P < 0.05). The 1-y change in serum log PTH was negatively associated with the 1-y change in postprandial fat oxidation after a high-calcium meal (partial r = -0.46, P < 0.04) when controlled for the1-y change in total body fat mass.
Conclusions: The results suggest that a chronic diet high in dairy calcium increases whole-body fat oxidation from a meal, and increases in fasting serum PTH relate to decreases in postprandial whole-body fat oxidation.