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Infancy and Childhood

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Calcium in Human Health

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

When considering patterns of lifetime calcium intake, most attention has been paid to ensuring adequate intakes during puberty and thereafter. This is rational because the greatest total amount of calcium is accreted to the skeleton during puberty, and optimizing peak bone mass and osteoporosis prevention are crucial in enhancing the bone health of a large portion of the population. From a pediatric perspective, however, infancy and early childhood can be a time at which calcium issues are also important, primarily to ensure that overt deficiency and rickets do not occur, but also to develop good dietary habits for later adolescence and adulthood. In this chapter, we will consider three time periods in infancy and early childhood and what is known regarding calcium nutrition during these periods. These three are (1) early life in premature infants, (2) the first 6 mo of life in full-term infants, and (3) 6 mo to 8 yr of age. Each of these poses unique challenges to our understanding of calcium needs. Although there is not a sudden change in needs at the boundaries between these life periods, they nevertheless are useful when considering calcium requirements.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatrics/Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

    Steven A. Abrams MD & Keli M. Hawthorne RD

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  1. Steven A. Abrams MD
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  2. Keli M. Hawthorne RD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

    Connie M. Weaver PhD

  2. Creighton University, Omaha, NE

    Robert P. Heaney MD (John A. Creighton University Professor) (John A. Creighton University Professor)

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© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Abrams, S.A., Hawthorne, K.M. (2006). Infancy and Childhood. In: Weaver, C.M., Heaney, R.P. (eds) Calcium in Human Health. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-961-5_16

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