There was no effect of calcium supplementation  on femoral neck or lumbar spine BMD .
There was no evidence of effect modification by baseline calcium intake , sex , ethnicity , physical activity or pubertal stage .
While there is a small effect of calcium supplementation in the upper limb , the increase in BMD which results is unlikely to result in a clinical ly significant decrease in fracture risk .
The results do not support the use of calcium supplementation  in healthy children as a public health intervention .
These results can not be extrapolated to children with medical conditions affecting bone metabolism
BACKGROUND Clinical trials have shown that  calcium supplementation in children can increase  bone mineral density ( BMD ) although this effect may not be maintained .
There has been no quantitative systematic review of this intervention .
To determine the effectiveness of calcium supplementation for improving BMD  in children .
.
To determine if any effect varies by sex , pubertal stage , ethnicity or level of physical activity , and if any effect persists after supplementation is ceased .
Cumulative effects of calcium supplementation and physical activity on bone accretion in premenarchal children: a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial.
High calcium intake combined with physical activity during childhood have been shown to improve bone mass accrual and bone mineral density . Our aim was to study the combined effect of calcium and exercise on  bone gain in children . Two milk-powder products containing either 800 mg of calcium phosphate ( calcium ) or not ( placebo ) were r and omly allocated to 113 healthy premenarchal girls on a daily basis for 1 year . The group was composed of 63 exercise ( 7.2 + /- 4 hours of exercise/week ) and 50 sedentary ( 1.2 + /- 0.8 hours of exercise/week ) children . The final experiment had 4 groups : exercise/calcium ( n = 12 ) , exercise/placebo ( n = 42 ) , sedentary/calcium ( n = 10 ) , and sedentary/placebo ( n = 21 ) . Bone mineral density ( BMD ) at 6 skeletal sites and body composition were determined by DXA . Bone age was calculated and the daily spontaneous calcium intake was assessed by a frequency question naire . All the tests were performed at baseline and 1 year by the same observer . BMD gains were significantly greater in the exercise/calcium group than in other groups at the total body ( increase of 6.3 % , p < 0.05 ) , lumbar spine ( 11 % , p < 0.05 ) , femoral neck ( 8.2 % , p < 0.02 ) , and Ward 's triangle ( 9.3 % , p < 0.01 ) . There was no difference between the other groups . These data suggest that calcium supplementation increases the effect of physical exercise on bone mineral acquisition in the period preceding puberty , and that calcium supplementation without physical activity does not improve the BMD acquisition during this period . Physical exercise that stimulates bone accretion needs a high calcium intake to be completely effective
There was no effect of calcium supplementation  on femoral neck or lumbar spine BMD .
There was no evidence of effect modification by baseline calcium intake , sex , ethnicity , physical activity or pubertal stage .
While there is a small effect of calcium supplementation in the upper limb , the increase in BMD which results is unlikely to result in a clinical ly significant decrease in fracture risk .
The results do not support the use of calcium supplementation  in healthy children as a public health intervention .
These results can not be extrapolated to children with medical conditions affecting bone metabolism
BACKGROUND Clinical trials have shown that  calcium supplementation in children can increase  bone mineral density ( BMD ) although this effect may not be maintained .
There has been no quantitative systematic review of this intervention .
To determine the effectiveness of calcium supplementation for improving BMD  in children .
.
To determine if any effect varies by sex , pubertal stage , ethnicity or level of physical activity , and if any effect persists after supplementation is ceased .