Table 1.

Dietary Calcium Intake (mg/d) Recommendations in the United States2 ,3*

Age1997 NAS31994 NIH2
0 to 6 mo 210400
6 mo to 1 y 270600
1 through 3 y500800
4 through 8 y800800 (4–5 y)
800–1200 (6–8 y)
9 through 18 y1300800–1200 (9–10 y)
1200–1500 (11–18 y)
  • * Recommended intakes were provided in different forms by each source cited. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released Recommended Dietary Allowances until 1997. In 1997, it chose to use the term adequate intake for the recommendations for calcium intake but indicated that these values were to be used as Recommended Dietary Allowances. The NIH Consensus Conference did not specify a specific term but indicated that these values were the “optimal” intake levels. Dietary recommendations by the NAS are set to meet the needs of 95% of the identified population of healthy subjects. The NAS guideline should be the primary guideline utilized.

  • For infant values, the 1994 NIH Consensus Conference indicated values for formula-fed infants, whereas the 1997 NAS report used the infant fed human milk as the standard.