Effect of calcium supplementation on weight loss in overweight and obese women, Baghdad, 2021

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity became a major public health burden worldwide and its prevalence rate in adults during the last forty years has been increasing in the developed and developing countries. Its prevalence among Iraqi women in 2020 was about 40%. Some studies suggested that calcium supplementation could accelerate weight loss and treat obesity. Objectives: To determine whether calcium intake during a weight loss program affects reduction of Iraqi women weight and whether there is a difference in the weight loss of both pre-menopausal and post-menopausal obese women after giving them calcium. Methods: An Interventional study was carried out on 50 overweight or obese Iraqi women "premenopausal or at least 3 years post-menopausal". They had been engaged in 6 month interventional program to reduce their weight through ingestion of calcium orally. Their BMI was measured in the beginning and in the end of that course. Results: The mean age among the participants was 45.4 ±17.3 years. 52% of them were premenopausal and 48% were postmenopausal. The reduction of BMI after 6 month calcium supplementation course was 74% among the whole women; which was significant, 88.5% among the premenopausal, which was also significant, and 58.3% among postmenopausal, which was not significant.