Calcium Summit addresses milk deficiency in country's youth

Dairy Field, Apr 2002

Top health experts say: "Drink milk - drop soda and junk food."

American children aren't getting enough calcium, according to some of the country's top health experts. In January, many of the nation's leading researchers, nutritionists and government officials assembled in Washington, D.C., to develop an action plan to address this calcium deficiency.

The event, Calcium Summit II, was sponsored by the National Dairy Council, the Milk Processor Education Program and the American College of Nutrition. The goal of the summit was to "develop a shared vision and action plan to help America's youth make improved dietary choices and achieve an optimal calcium intake." Forty-four organizations, including the American Dietetic Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the National Medical Association and the American School Food Service Association, supported the mission. Representatives of nine of the organizations were featured with milk mustaches in a full-page ad in USA Today in January.

"Poor eating patterns are partly to blame for this shortfall, with over-- consumption of low-nutrient foods and under-consumption of nutrient-rich foods such as milk," says panelist Marc Jacobson, M.D., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Schneider's Children's Hospital in New York City.

Nutrition and medical leaders at the Calcium Summit II developed the following "agenda for action" to address the widespread calcium deficiencies among children and teenagers:

* Show parents how children can easily get at least three servings of dairy a day and encourage parents to be role models for their children by consuming products at mealtime, too.

* Offer more milk varieties in school and fewer soft drinks so children can make healthy food choices more easily.

* Increase awareness with pediatricians to include a calcium check-up in their back-to-school physicals.