Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 2017, Vol. 5, No. 5, 347-353 Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/jfnr/5/5/10 ©Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/jfnr-5-5-10 Calcium Knowledge and Consumption Pattern of Calcium-rich Foods among Female University Students in South-west Nigeria Oluyemisi Folake Folasire 1,2,* , Eyitayo Victoria Akinrinde 1 1 Department of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria 2 Family Medicine Department, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria *Corresponding author: yemisifolasire2011@gmail.com Abstract Calcium plays a vital role in the prevention of Osteoporosis; Peak bone mass is attained in the early years of life before 30 years. The study assessed the calcium knowledge and consumption pattern of calcium-rich foods by female University students. This cross-sectional study involved 400 randomly selected female undergraduate students of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Information collected included; socio- demography/economy, the source of calcium information and 20-calcium knowledge questions from literature. Consumption pattern of calcium-rich foods was assessed with a modified food frequency questionnaire. Our study showed mean age was 19.8 ± (2.2) years; calcium knowledge score was 10.1(±3.7). Half (51.5%) of the respondents had good knowledge about calcium, while 48.5% had poor knowledge. The majority (47.3%) of the respondents got information on calcium from academic sources, 14.0% from family/friends, about 7.0% from health personnel and 1.0% from the media. Only 18.4% frequently consumed milk/dairy products, about 20% frequently consumed calcium-rich fish and fish products, while 8.9% and 5.8% frequently consumed legumes/nuts and fruits/vegetables that are rich sources of calcium. Receiving calcium information from academic sources was associated with significantly higher calcium knowledge scores (X 2 =9.535, p=0.002). Having lower calcium knowledge was significantly associated with infrequent consumption of spinach (X 2 =5.227, p=0.022) and okra (X 2 =6.337, p=0.012). The respondents that received calcium information from non-academic sources (family/friends, health personnel, media) were 0.6 times less likely to have good calcium knowledge, (OR=0.548, 95% C.I. =0.316 to 0.951, p=0.033). A high percentage of the respondents had poor calcium knowledge, infrequently consumed calcium-rich foods and were not knowledgeable about the role of calcium in the prevention of osteoporosis. Thus, there is a need to intensify calcium education interventions through the non-academic avenues, especially the media. Keywords: calcium knowledge, consumption pattern, osteoporosis, female adolescent, young adults Cite This Article: Oluyemisi Folake Folasire, and Eyitayo Victoria Akinrinde, “Calcium Knowledge and Consumption Pattern of Calcium-rich Foods among Female University Students in South-west Nigeria.” Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, vol. 5, no. 5 (2017): 347-353. doi: 10.12691/jfnr-5-5-10. 1. Introduction Calcium is one of the essential micro-nutrients for bone health. It is a vital mineral in human metabolism, making up about 1-2% of an adult human body weight. In the body, the reservoir for calcium is bone tissue. The roles of calcium in the body include; building bones and keeping them healthy, blood clotting, muscle contraction, aid nerve in sending messages and maintenance of acid/base balance in the bloodstream [1]. Calcium homoeostasis is maintained by keeping the level of circulating ionised calcium within a narrow physiological range. The day to day regulation of serum calcium levels is supported by an endocrine system involving the parathyroid hormone and 1,25 (OH) 2 D [2]. The body cannot produce new calcium, and so when an individual does not take in enough from dietary sources, the calcium needs of the body is supplied by the bones. The stored calcium in bones acts as a source for metabolic need through the process of remodelling. Persistent deficiency of calcium in the diet can lead to bone loss which results in decreased bone mass and increases the risk development of osteoporosis and fractures. The absorption of calcium is influenced by vitamin D sufficiency, the presence of calcium binders in the diet (oxalate, phosphate, and phytate), age group and physiological state. Calcium deficiency presents as rickets in children, poor bone mass accrual, low peak bone mass due to poor accrual in childhood and adolescence, abnormal foetal programming during pregnancy, postmenopausal osteoporosis and osteoporosis in the elderly [3]. Bones need plenty of vitamin D and calcium throughout early life especially during childhood and adolescent periods to reach the peak strength and calcium content because, in adult life, bone modelling occurs less than remodelling [4]. Previous studies have shown that adolescents retain calcium more than adults with the same calcium intake [1].