Calcium supplements could receive a sales boost from the results of a study published in this month’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers from University Hospital Zurich and Dartmouth Medical School found that daily supplementation of calcium reduced the risk of bone fractures in healthy people by 72%. The randomized, placebo-controlled trial also showed that these bone-strengthening benefits were no longer observed once study participants stopped popping their calcium pills, emphasizing the importance of continued supplementation. In the study, 930 healthy participants—who were a mean age of 61—were divided into two groups: one received 1,200 mg of calcium carbonate daily and the other received a placebo. The participants were followed for four years during supplementation and for 10.8 years after supplementation ceased.

Calcium sales were up a total of 4.9% and represented 55% of all mineral sales in the United States in 2007, according to Nutrition Business Journal research. NBJ’s most recent facts and figures for the U.S. supplements industry will be explored in depth in the annual Nutrition Industry Overview issue, which publishes in July. To order your copy of the issue or to subscribe to NBJ, go to www.nutritionbusinessjournal.com.