Abstract
Objective. The effect of calcium intervention equivalent to three cups of milk/day from dairy foods and 800 mg supplemental calcium as tablets, compared to a control group on normal diets with one cup of milk/day, was studied on food and nutrient intakes. Methods. A group of 122 healthy adult Jordanian females, age 20-45 years, were recruited in the study during a period of 12 weeks. Study sample was divided into: dairy calcium group, supplemental calcium group, and control group. Intakes of main food groups, energy, carbohydrates, protein, fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, calcium and vitamin D were evaluated, and their intake adequacies were assessed using the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) and food exchange system at the end of the study. Results. highly significant differences (P<0.001) were obtained between the different treatment groups regarding: (fats and oils), (meat, poultry, fish and eggs) and (bread, cereals, rice and pasta groups). The differences between the three groups took the same pattern. The control and supplemental calcium groups consumed significantly the highest amounts of fats, meats, bread and cereals, whereas the milk supplemental group consumed significantly the lowest amounts. No significant differences (P>0.05) were obtained between the different treatment groups regarding their intakes of fruits and vegetables. As for energy intakes, the control group exhibited a significantly (p < 0.05) higher contribution of energy intake compared to the other intervention supplemented groups. Conclusions. It can be concluded that the postulation that the favorable effects of dairy components on food intake, subjective satiety and intake regulatory mechanisms have been usually observed in short term experiments where the components were consumed in amounts that found in usual serving sizes of dairy products, and in the current study, the milk intake of the milk group seemed to affect satiety and eating pattern of diet and nutrient intakes by lowering food and energy intakes.