A Comparison of Asian Asian and American Asian populations: Calcium and Bone Accretion During Formation of Peak Bone Mass

The prevalence of osteoporotic fractures in Asians is lower as compared to their Western counterparts despite lower bone mass and bone size in Asians. Variation in bone mass between Asian and White adolescent girls could be largely explained by the differences in body size and lifestyle factors such as calcium intake and physical activity. Although habitual calcium intakes and vitamin D status of Chinese adolescents have been found lower than the American Whites, bone gain from age 10-15 years was similar between the two groups. This phenomenon could be explained by more efficient calcium utilization namely, calcium absorption, excretion, and retention among the Chinese. However, the decreasing calcium absorption efficiency for the Chinese girls, but not the White girls, with increasing calcium intakes suggests that bone accretion could be matched between races at higher calcium intakes. Further research is warrant to evaluate the impact of long-term higher calcium intakes on peak bone mass and fracture reduction among Asian population.