Calcium supplements taken by a growing number of older women

Use of Calcium Supplements Rise Among Older Women

The use of calcium supplements among elderly women in the United States has climbed, part of a larger trend of increased vitamin, mineral and food supplement use in the country.

According to a new survey made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), supplement use among Americans was recorded at 42 percent of the population in the early 1990s before steadily rising to about half until 2003 to 2008 when it stabilized.

During this time, older women upped their use of calcium supplements from 28 percent in the early 1990s to almost two-thirds in 2008, the latest data available.

Older people, particularly women who are more prone to osteoporosis, have been urged for the past decade or so to use calcium supplements to promote bone health.

The CDC used national data collected between 1988 and 1994 and again between 2003 and 2008 to come up with the figures. About 2,000 Americans participated in the survey.

Background information revealed that the majority of those who took supplements during this time were well-educated, high-income earners and tend to have the proper diet from which to get nutrients.

National Institutes of Health epidemiologist Regan Bailey told AP that, "It's almost like the people who are taking them aren't the people who need them."

Most health experts prefer that people get their nutrients from their diet and not from pills.

Although encouraged by some doctors and popular media, supplements use is not routinely prescribed and may only benefit certain individuals. For example, women who plan pregnancy may take folic acid, pregnant women may take iron supplements and older women may be prescribed calcium supplements.

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday April 13 2011, 10:18 PM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0