The effect of maternal dietary calcium intake on the body composition of mothers and their infants

In a cross‐sectional study of 96 mothers and their full‐term infants at 3 months post‐partum, dietary intake, physical activity, infant feeding history, and anthropometric measures were assessed. Onsite measurements of mother and infant body composition used the BOD POD and PEA POD, respectively. Mothers who consumed ≥1000 mg of calcium per day (n=25) weighed less (p=0.016) and had a lower BMI (p=0.014) at 3 months post‐partum despite higher intakes of energy, macronutrients, fiber, sugar, iron, and vitamin D compared to mothers consuming <1000 mg calcium (n=71). There was no significant difference in pre‐pregnancy BMI between calcium groups. No significant differences were found between exclusively breastfeeding mothers (EBF; n=66) and mixed feeding mothers (MF; n=30) regarding body fat percentage, pregnancy weight gain, or energy intake. EBF mothers had lower pre‐pregnancy BMIs, lower BMIs and weighed less at 3 months, and consumed more calcium, fiber, and iron than MF mothers. There were no significant differences in maternal body weight, BMI or body fat percentage between MF mothers of both calcium groups, but a trend for EBF mothers consuming less calcium to weigh more (p=0.055) was found. These findings provide further evidence that EBF may lead to greater post‐partum weight loss and support recent studies regarding calcium's potential role in weight management. (Supported by the University of Georgia Research Foundation)