Calcium Deficiency and Teenage Girls

Last Updated on May 30, 2023 by Ellen Christian

Of all of the things that I worried about as a teenager, calcium deficiency wasn’t one of them. Now that I’m the mom of a teenage girl, I’m fairly certain she isn’t worrying about calcium deficiency either. We’ve had discussions about good nutrition especially when I notice energy drinks and candy bars making more of an appearance in her backpack. But, honestly, I don’t think we’ve ever had a discussion specific to calcium and preventing calcium deficiency.

Calcium Deficiency and Teenage Girls

It’s not easy to get teenagers to eat healthy. As parents, we don’t have as much control over what they eat when they aren’t home. There are lunches at school, fast food after the game, evenings out for pizza with friends, etc. that we aren’t a part of. I make healthy meals when they are home but there is only so much I can do. I encourage my teens to take a multivitamin to help cover what they may not get in their diet but what if that isn’t enough?

My daughter isn’t a huge fan of milk or milk products. Besides the cheese on pizza, I’m fairly certain she doesn’t have much calcium in her diet. Did you know that only 15% of high school students drink milk and only 9% of them were teen girls. Those are fairly scary numbers because if your body is not getting enough calcium it begins to take it from the bones, decreasing bone mineral density which can eventually lead to osteopenia and osteoporosis.

According to a 2010 study published in The Journal of Nutrition, 86% of teen girls do not get enough calcium in their daily diets. Since 95% of peak bone mass is present by age 20, this isn’t a good time to not get enough calcium. We have to start banking calcium at a young age because women lose it slowly as they age. Calcium isn’t manufactured by your body so it has to be introduced by outside sources (diet/supplements).

I had a discussion with my daughter about the importance of getting enough calcium in her diet. Neither of us can swallow those huge calcium pills but I recently had the chance to try Viactiv Soft Chews which are a calcium supplement chew available in milk chocolate and caramel flavors. Viactiv Soft Chews provide 100% of the daily recommended amount of calcium plus vitamins D3 and K for most women. It’s important to me that my daughter gets enough calcium in her diet so I am sharing one of the canisters of Viactiv I received with her. Now we can build strong bones together.

Each Viactiv Calcium Soft Chew is individually wrapped which makes it easy to toss into a gym bag, purse or lunch bag. Viactiv Calcium Soft Chews are the #1 doctor recommended calcium supplement chew. They are meant to help you get the recommended daily dietary levels of calcium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K as a supplement to diet/food sources. Now there is an easy way to make sure we both get enough calcium.

Viactiv is celebrating their birthday with the Viactiv 15th Birthday Bash Giveaway! Entry periods for the Viactiv 15th Birthday Bash Giveaway will occur on the 4th through 15th of each month, as listed below:

4/4/14-4/15/14
5/4/14-5/15/14
6/4/14-6/15/14
7/4/14-7/15/14

Each month on the 15th, fifteen (15) winners will be randomly to receive two (2) canisters of Viactiv Calcium Soft Chews in the flavor of their choice –they can keep one and share the other one with someone else — teen daughter, sister, best friend, mother or another special woman in their life. Learn more on the Viactiv Facebook page. Viactiv can be purchased at Walmart, Rite Aid, CVS, Target, Walgreens and drugstore.com.

Get the latest information on Viactiv® Calcium Soft Chews at www.viactiv.com. #ViactivYoursandHers