Date of Award

Winter 3-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Human Ecology

First Advisor

Mary Fontenot

Abstract

Dairy product consumption has been on the decline for decades in the US and worldwide, and the increase in plant-based substitutes has grown substantially. Osteoporosis and the risk of bone fractures are serious public health issues. To date, little scientific-based studies have compared the relationship between calcium intake from dairy sources vs non-dairy sources and bone mineral density. The purpose of this study is to compare the relationships between calcium consumption from dairy vs. non-dairy sources and bone mineral density among college students. There was a total of 66 participants in the study including 15 (23%) males and 51 (77%) females. The participants’ ages ranged from 17 to 43 years with 48 (74%) being white, 16 (25%) African American, and 1 (1%) Hispanic. There was a significant difference found between males (M =.00, SD = .00) and females (M =.62, SD = 1.21) for z-scores, t(37), p <.01. There was a significant difference found between males (M = 126.27, SD = 22.44) and females (M = 110.21, SD = 21.55) for stiffness index scores, t(60), p < 02. There was a significant difference found between whites (M = 109.60, SD = 20.67) and non-whites (M = 129.27, SD = 22.86) in stiffness index scores t(58), p < .01. There was a significant difference in dairy calcium intake between participants who did not meet the RDA (M = 293.43, SD = 249.36) and participants who did meet the RDA (M = 940.98, SD = 618.89) t(15.54), p < .01. This study confirmed that not only were participants who didn’t consume dairy calcium not meeting the RDA, but they weren’t making up for the difference in non-dairy sources.

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