Background: Evidence suggests that dietary calcium intake may be inversely related to body weight. One explanatory mechanism is that dietary calcium increases fecal fat excretion, due to either calcium soap formation and/or binding of bile acids (BAs) in the intestine. Objective: To examine the effect of calcium from low-fat dairy products on fecal fat excretion. Design: A randomized crossover study with 11 subjects, comparing two 7-d diets: one high in calcium from low-fat dairy products (high-Ca; 2300 mg Ca per d) and one low in calcium (low-Ca; 700 mg Ca per d). Measurements: All feces were collected during the last 5 days of each diet period and analyzed for fat, energy and calcium content and fatty acid (FA) and BA composition. Results: Dairy calcium significantly increased the total fecal fat excretion from 5.4 ± 0.5 g d À1 on the low-Ca diet to 11.5 ± 1.4 g d À1 on the high-Ca diet (Po0.001). The fecal energy excretion increased almost correspondingly. Saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated FAs were all excreted in larger amounts on the high-Ca diet (Po0.001 for all), with the effect of calcium being greater for monounsaturated than for saturated FAs. The fecal excretion of BAs was unaffected of calcium intakes. Conclusions: Increasing the intake of calcium from low-fat dairy products by 1600 mg d À1 for 7 days doubled total fecal fat excretion, but did not affect the excretion of BAs. The results may partially explain why a high-calcium diet can produce weight loss. Keywords: dietary calcium; dairy products; fecal fat excretion; fecal bile acids; fecal fatty acid composition IntroductionAn inverse association between calcium intake and body weight in humans was reported for the first time in the mid1980s, based on data from the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.1 More than a decade later, an increased fat loss of almost 5 kg, due to an augmented calcium intake from dairy products, was observed in an antihypertension trial. 2 Since then, increasing evidence that dairy calcium reduces body weight has emerged from both observational and intervention studies. 3-7 However, not all investigations have confirmed these findings. 8-14The mechanism responsible for the effect of increased calcium intake on energy balance is not clear, but a number of different mechanisms have been suggested. One possible explanation, proposed by Zemel et al., 2 is that serum calcium plays a regulatory role in lipid metabolism by influencing intracellular calcium levels through hormonal regulation. According to this hypothesis, an increase in dietary calcium would result in increased lipolysis and decreased lipogenesis, thereby stimulating body fat loss. An alternative, or additional, possibility is that calcium interferes with fat absorption in the intestine by forming insoluble calcium soaps with fatty acids (FAs) or by forming precipitates with phosphate and bile acids (BAs), resulting in decreases in the digestible energy of the diet. 15-18A decrease in fat absorption, inferred from increases in feca...

By presenting z scores and centile reference charts for an apparently healthy urban Ethiopian infant population, this study represents a first step toward providing reference data on FM and FFM for an urban African context, which is important for future clinical care and research. This study was registered at www.controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN46718296.

Lactose may be an overlooked beneficial nutrient for young and undernourished children. Research is needed to define the balance between beneficial and detrimental effects of lactose in undernourished children at different ages and with different degrees of diarrhea and intestinal integrity.

Background: Within food-based approaches to improve nutrition during the first 1000 days of life, improved formulations of food products and the use of animal source foods, such as fish, are 2 widely cited strategies; however, there are few examples where the 2 strategies are combined. Furthermore, although small indigenous fish are highly nutritious and available to the poor in many regions of the world, their importance is often overlooked. Objective: To document the development of 2 nutritious fish-based food products in Bangladesh: a chutney for pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and a complementary food (CF) for infants and young children (6-23 months), including potential contributions to recommended or desirable nutrient intakes in the first 1000 days, processing methods, and nutrient composition. Methods: Local nutrient-rich ingredients and simple processing methods based on traditional knowledge (for the chutney), and a literature review (for the CF), were selected and trial batches produced. Products were analyzed for nutrient composition using standard analytical procedures and results compared with recommended or desirable nutrient intakes for women and children. Results: Both products could contribute significantly to micronutrient intakes of PLW (24% of iron and 35% of calcium recommended intakes) and macro-and micronutrient intake of infants and young children (65% of vitamin A, 61% of zinc, and 41% of iron desirable intakes) when consumed in the proposed serving size. Conclusion: Inclusion of small indigenous fish as an underutilized animal source food in combination with other local nutrient-rich ingredients in food products represents a promising food-based strategy to improve nutrition, with many additional potential benefits for communities involved in production, and therefore warrants further investigation.

F-75, which complies with UN specifications and provides 73 mg phosphorus · kg(-1) · d(-1) (130 mL · kg(-1) · d(-1)), seems to prevent refeeding hypophosphatemia in children with SAM. Replacing this formula with rice porridge during the first days of treatment to manage diarrhea may have an adverse effect on P-phosphate concentrations. This study was registered at http://www.isrctn.com as ISRCTN55092738.