OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess dietary calcium intake and its correlation with the adiposity parameters of adult women living in Diamantina (MG). METHODS: The body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and percentage of body fat of 50 women were determined. Dietary calcium intake was assessed by the 24-hour recall and food frequency questionnaire. The foods in the questionnaire were divided into three groups: 1) dairy, 2) vegetable sources of calcium and 3) calcium absorption inhibitors. The food frequency scores I, II and III corresponding to the three food groups mentioned above were then calculated. RESULTS: Approximately 42.0% of the women had a body mass index >25Kg/m²; 26.0% of them had some degree of obesity. Ninety percent of the women presented excess body fat and 42.0% were at risk of metabolic diseases. The mean calcium intake per day represented 43.8% of the Adequate Intake and did not differ between women whose body mass index was <24.9 and >5kg/m². Scores I and II were significantly lower than that of foods that impair calcium absorption (p<0.05). There were no correlations between calcium intake or scores I, II and III and the adiposity parameters studied (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Low calcium intake may have contributed to the absence of a correlation between the studied variables. Associations between calcium intake and adiposity parameters are still unclear and should be further investigated.
Adiposity; Calcium, dietary; Calcium components; Dietary; Eating
