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Well, apparently some think it has a lot to do with it.

Quite recently you might have heard in the media about researchthat high calcium intakes promote fat burning. For a while now,those related to the dairy industry have been pushing thecalcium and link.[2]

The latest claim has been based on a study designed to examinethe mechanism by which calcium may increase the fat burningeffect of a meal. The study's outcome suggests that these glandsmay play some role in the calcium and story.

But there is a downside that some have forgotten to mention.This study was very small and used participants that were notoverweight. The study focussed more on the way in which calciummay affect fat oxidation, rather than whether there is a causallink between calcium and weight loss.

You can see the research abstract for yourself here.

The research conducted jointly by Purdue University and IndianaUniversity and funded by the Dairy Council, found that dietshigh in calcium from dairy sources increases the fat burningeffect of a meal.

They also found that an increase in a hormone called parathyroidhormone, known to regulate the levels of calcium and phosphorusin the body, decreases fat burning after a meal.

Researchers prescribed the 10 subjects either a low or highdietary calcium intake over a 1 year period. The subjects werethen assessed by measuring respiration and serum parathyroidhormone concentrations after they had consumed 2 isocaloricliquid meals containing 100 or 500 mg of calcium at thebeginning of the study and after a year.

The results of the study indicate that the group who receivedthe high calcium intake had higher fat oxidation levels after ameal than did those in the group who received the low calciummeal. They also found that increases of parathyroid hormone wereassociated with decreases of fat oxidation after a meal.

What does this new study tell us about calcium and weightloss?

The study is small, it had a total of 10 participants. For it tobe able to conclude that there is a link between calcium andweight loss, a larger study would need to be done.

It does however, tell us that there may be a viable link betweencalcium and weight loss.

Making Sense of The Confusion

Let's put this whole issue into perspective. There are two cleargroups who have weighed into this issue. On one side are thefood police activists who caution consumers against jumping onthe "drink milk and lose weight" bandwagon. On the other sideare manufacturers and dairy producer associations who havepreviously seen milk drinking rates decline, and want to get themessage across that you need to drink more milk. Both sides aretrying to get your attention as a milk consumer.

There is a lot of evidence to suggest that high calcium intakeis linked to weight loss.[4] However, some are suspicious thatthese studies have been funded by parties with a vested interestin the calcium and issue. [3]

It is not always true that because a scientist has receivedfunding from industry that their work will automatically bebiased, but it should be made clear where the money has comefrom. If it does not matter where the money came from, thenindependent researchers should be able to get the same outcome.

Having said this, why have other published studies found noevidence of a link between calcium and weight loss?

Supporters of the calcium and link say that this isbecause drinking more milk may only help to lose weight, if theindividual was calcium deficient in the first place.[4,5]