The ubiquitous "Got Milk?" ads remind us that we need calcium for strong bones and teeth from the time we are toddlers through our senior years. But researchers are learning that diets rich in calcium also provide another benefit: they help ward off obesity. The latest findings, presented last week at a meeting of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences, come from a study of 321 girls, ages 9 to 14, conducted by Rachel Novotny and colleagues at the University of Hawaii. The girls who consumed more calcium weighed less and had less abdominal fat.
It made little difference whether...