You Ask, I Answer: Calcium Recommendations for Older Adults
Why do calcium requirements increase when you turn 51? It’s not as if bones are still being formed or growing.
– Joseph Stewart
Reading, PA
Calcium recommendations are set for 1,000 milligrams for adults ages 19 – 50.
Children and teenagers aged 9 – 18 should aim for 1,300 milligrams a day, while adults 51 and older need 1,200 milligrams.
The 1,300-milligram figure was put in place to help young people achieve “peak bone mass” (the maximum amount of bone density a person can acquire)
The increase in calcium for those 51 and older (for bone density maintenance) is in response to the body’s decreased absorption of the mineral with age.
Remember that calcium is just one piece of the bone density puzzle.
The two other lifestyle-related actions older adults can take for bone maintenance are quitting smoking and doing weight-bearing exercises.
