Live Smart: Health and Safety Activities for Youth Clubs

Bulletin 907

Calcium Concerns

YOU WILL TEACH CLUB MEMBERS

What calcium is and why the body needs it. How to determine which foods contain calcium.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

At least four different food labels with the product name blacked out, a tennis ball, and a deck of cards

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Ask club members: What is calcium?
Answer: Calcium is a mineral.

Ask club members: Why do you need calcium?
Answer: It is used by the body to build strong bones, make the heart beat, regulate nerve function, and make muscles contract. Calcium is also needed to stop bleeding when you get cut and scraped. That is a lot of work for one mineral!

Ask club members: Where do you get calcium?
Answer: Many people think they can only get calcium from milk. While this is an excellent source, it is not the only one. Yogurt, cheese, dark leafy vegetables, sardines with the bone, and calcium-fortified foods are also wonderful calcium sources.

Ask club members: If you are unsure whether or not a food contains calcium, what is the easiest way to check?
Answer: Just read the food label! By law, most foods must have food labels. Just under the section listing "Calories," "Carbohydrates" and "Fats," you will see a section listing calcium and other nutrients.

WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW?

Tell club members: The amount of calcium a person needs depends on his or her age. Young people (those under 25) need a lot of calcium since their bones are still developing.

Ask club members: How much calcium do you need?
Answer: The recommended daily allowance for calcium is 1,200 mg. This is the amount you get from four servings of calcium-rich foods.

Ask club members: How much is a serving?
Answer: One serving of calcium-rich food is equal to:

1 cup of milk, low-fat or nonfat yogurt, fortified orange juice, or broccoli
1/2 cup of ice cream or frozen yogurt (about the size of a tennis ball)
3 ounces of sardines with bones (a little smaller than a deck of cards)
1-1/2 ounce of cheese (about the size of your thumb)
1 ounce of fortified cereal

Ask club members: What happens if you do not get enough calcium every day?
Answer: Since calcium is used in the body in many ways, it is important to try to get ample calcium. If you do not, the calcium will be taken away from your bones so your heart can keep pumping and your muscles can keep working. This leads to brittle bones, or a condition know as osteoporosis. (Say "ah-stee-o-por-o-sis")

Ask club members: How can you tell if you have osteoporosis?
Answer: Osteoporosis is a "silent disease." This means that you can have it for a long time without knowing. Your bones will get weaker and weaker, until one day a bone finally breaks. It is usually not until a bone breaks without reason that a person realizes they have osteoporosis.

Tell club members: The people who make food labels have made it pretty easy to tell whether or not you have eaten enough calcium-containing foods. Notice that unlike other food label listings, calcium is given as a percent. Throughout the day, you can add up the percent in each of the foods you eat and see how much calcium you have consumed. Make it your goal to get 100% of your calcium every day!

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. Code your food labels so you know what they are. For example, write a "1" on the back of the first food label, a "2" on the back of the second, and so on. Make sure you know what food goes with which label, but don't tell your other club members.
2. Pass out the labels. See if people can guess what the food is.
3. Have them write down the percent of calcium each food contains. Once every member has seen every food, have them add up the percent of calcium they would have consumed if they had eaten all of the foods.

Bring milk and calcium-fortified orange juice for a refreshing, nutritious snack!

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