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Calcium Lacking in Australian Population

Only one in four Australian females and one in two males met their calcium requirements from food, according to new analysis of the Australian Health Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

The 2011-13 Survey involved more than 12,000 participants.  More than half the Australian population aged two years and over had inadequate usual intakes of calcium, the ABS said.  Nearly two in every three people aged two years and older, or 76% of males and 42% of females, had a usual intake of sodium that exceeded the upper level of intake, with children more likely than adults to exceed the upper level.

Australian Self Medication Industry regulatory and scientific affairs director Steve Scarff said while a balanced diet should provide calcium needs, supplements could "bridge the gap" when dietary intake did not meet requirements.

 

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