Calcium & Belly Fat

Calcium is an important nutrient that has major implications for reducing the incidence of overall obesity, as well as reducing measures of belly fat, such as the amount of visceral fat and your waist-to-hip ratio. In fact, increasing your calcium consumption, especially if you don't currently get enough, is a factor easily under your control that can help you shed several pounds of weight around the middle. Before you simply start consuming more calcium, such as through dairy products, talk to your doctor about your nutrient needs, and whether or not an increase in calcium would be safe for you. Also, be mindful that adding calories without watching your total calorie intake will likely only result in weight gain. Increasing calcium while being smart about your overall diet is the best way to reduce your belly fat.

Calcium

Calcium is the most plentiful mineral found in your body, according to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). You need this nutrient for your heart, muscles and nerves to properly function and for your blood to clot. Calcium is also involved in intracellular communication and the secretion of hormones. Without enough calcium, you would be at greater risk of osteoporosis, and surprisingly, excessive weight and belly fat. ODS says calcium is thought to help with your body weight by reducing calcium concentrations in fat cells by "decreasing the production of two hormones that increase fat breakdown in these cells and discourage fat accumulation." In addition, calcium might bind to fat from food you eat in your digestive tract, preventing it from being absorbed.

Calcium and Abdominal Obesity

Harvard University says that a healthy diet that includes good amounts of calcium protects women from gaining visceral fat, described as fat deeply embedded in the abdominal cavity. It's the most dangerous kind of fat as it collects against your organs. It's linked to metabolic problems, such as increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, along with heart disease. In women, visceral fat is related to breast cancer and gallbladder issues. A Purdue University researcher published a review of literature on calcium and obesity in the January 2003 "Journal of Nutrition." She noted that in some research people who consumed the least calcium, less than 600 mg per day, weighed significantly more, had more body fat, a greater waist circumference and total abdominal fat tissue. A Brazilian study published in the July 2010 "International Journal of Clinical Practice" provided similar findings. Those following a high-calcium diet of about 1,200 to 1,300 mg per day had greater reductions in waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio than people who ate the same amount of calories but consumed less calcium.

Weight Management

Authors reporting the results of a meta-analysis in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" said higher calcium intake repeatedly resulted in lower body fat, lower body weight and reduced weight gain in middle age. The differences in the amounts of calcium people consume explains as much as 10 percent of variability in weight in the general population. In general, for each additional 300 mg of calcium people consume, adults in research studies weigh 5.5 to 6.6 lbs. less than their counterparts. For children, the effect measured a little more than 2 lbs.

How Much Calcium Needed

Most adults need somewhere between 1,000 and 1,300 mg of calcium daily In the "Journal of Nutrition" analysis, women who consumed at least 1,000 mg daily lost on average 5.7 lbs. over two years, while those who consumed about 500 mg daily gained about 4 lbs. in that time. In the "Journal of American College of Nutrition," the conclusion was that two additional servings of dairy per day could reduce your risk of excess body fat by as much as 70 percent. The ODS says that milk, yogurt and cheese are good sources of calcium; nondairy sources include vegetables like Chinese cabbage, kale and broccoli.

Low-Calorie Diet and Vitamin D Needs

Each of these research articles noted that calcium increases produced weight loss best when combined with a balanced diet that was not excessive in calories. Simply increasing your calcium intake is likely to make you gain weight if you don't compensate by eating fewer calories. But it's important that you know that you need vitamin D to help you form the hormone that controls how you absorb calcium. Without vitamin D, your body will take calcium from your bones. Indeed, Oregon Health & Science University recently reported that women who had the most belly fat, possibly related to low calcium intake, also had lower bone density and increased risk of osteoporosis.