Stocking up on calcium is recommended as research shows calcium intake in the UK has fallen by 20% over the past two decades, according to a report from the Health and Food Supplements Information Service (HSIS). The report, titled 'Decades Of Decline Health And Wellbeing Impacts Of Falling Nutrient Intakes', examined dietary patterns since 1997 and found worrying trends in bone health.
Dr Emma Derbyshire, public health nutritionist at HSIS, warned that bone density is accrued in youth, yet 15% of 11 to 18-year-olds have calcium intakes below the Lower Reference Nutrient Intake (LRNI). Among girls and young women aged 11 to 18, this rises to one in five (20%), and in women aged 19 to 64, the number failing to achieve the dietary target has climbed steadily from 6% to 11%.
Dr Derbyshire noted that inadequate intakes can have hard-hitting effects later in life, with healthcare costs for hip fractures alone estimated at £5 million a day. She added: 'Women over the age of 45 will spend more days in hospital due to osteoporosis than they will for diabetes, heart attacks or breast cancer, and every month 1,150 people die following a hip fracture.'
To address this 'bone health ticking time bomb', Dr Derbyshire recommends a multivitamin and multimineral supplement, including calcium and vitamin D, to bridge the shortfall. She also highlighted that vitamin D status has declined since 2008, with one in five people in the UK deficient in this key nutrient, and magnesium levels are also lacking.
Practical tips to boost calcium intake include starting the day with calcium-fortified cereal with milk or a fortified plant-based alternative, eating tinned fish with bones such as sardines or salmon, and consuming calcium-rich foods like Cheddar cheese, yoghurt, tofu, and kale. Weight-bearing activities such as walking, running, or cycling for at least 30 minutes five times a week can also support bone health.
