Calcium Some Help in Preventing Postmenopausal Weight Gain

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The study was published in the May 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

One expert thinks calcium's small effect on weight gain is not really an effective part of fighting obesity.

"The beneficial effects on weight gain peaked after just three years, and then plateaued," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University School of Medicine Prevention Research Center. The benefits of supplementation were reduced weight gain, not weight loss. Roughly 70 percent of the women in this trial were overweight at the start, and almost all gained weight throughout, he said.

"Calcium and vitamin D did not cause weight loss, or even prevent weight gain -- they just slowed its relentless march a bit," he said. "In the battle to control obesity and its adverse effects, this has contributed the equivalent of a pea shooter."

More information

For more information on maintaining a healthy weight, visit the U.S. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.