According to RDI values women over 19 should take about 1,000 mg of calcium daily, which translates into 3 cups of milk and half a cup of yogurt. Obviously most women do not get nowhere near this amount, which raises concerns about such health conditions as osteoporosis, especially later in life. Unfortunately most women do not even consider taking calcium supplements until they are faced with the problem. Recent research uncovered some interesting information about relationship between calcium deficiency and weight loss, which will hopefully motivate younger women to take calcium supplements for another reason!
It has been noticed that people on calcium-deficient diet tend to be more overweight, which of course prompted the researchers to investigate the effect of supplementing calcium on ability to lose weight. A group of obese women were given a supplement of 1,200 mg of calcium or a placebo for fifteen weeks. By the end of experiment women in calcium-supplement group lost an average ten pounds more than the second group, had less belly fat and more lean muscle mass.
It is not clear yet how exactly this relationship works, but the effect is obvious. If you suspect you are not getting enough calcium in your diet, take a supplement. It is a good idea to combine calcium supplement with vitamin D to help absorption (1).