A survey conducted last month by the Nutrition Foundation of Taiwan showed a nearly 3cm difference between the average heights of fourth graders who drink more milk and fourth-graders who drink less milk.
The foundation found that fourth-graders who were in the bottom half of the survey in terms of dairy consumption had an average height of 139.81cm, while fourth-graders in the upper half had an average height of 142.4cm, foundation chief executive Wu Ying-jung (吳映蓉) said.
A lack of dairy intake could affect how tall the children became, said Chen Mu-jung (陳木榮), superintendent of Your Doctor Clinic, a pediatric clinic in New Taipei City.
The survey found that 85 percent of the children did not consume the recommended amount of dairy products per day.
According to the Health Promotion Administration, elementary and junior-high school students should consume at least 1.5 dairy products per day, because their bodies are still developing.
From Ministry of Education data on elementary-school students across the nation, the foundation drew a sample of 1,252 students in grades one through six who have a habit of drinking milk.
It found that 83.63 percent of school-aged children consume less than 1.5 dairy products per day, while 40.6 percent drink milk less than once per day and 3.8 percent drink milk once per week or less.
Children should consume 800 to 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day, Wu said.
Two 240 milliliter glasses of milk per day make up about 60 percent of that amount, Wu said, adding that children can reach the daily recommended intake level by consuming other foods.
Apart from dairy products, foods that are rich in calcium include tofu, black sesame seeds and green vegetables such as Chinese kale — also called jielan (芥藍) — and amaranth greens, Wu said.
People who do not eat dairy products, such as some vegetarians, can consume the recommended daily dose of calcium by drinking soy milk with black sesame seeds, Wu said.
Caffeinated drinks — such as coffee, tea, and carbonated beverages — might reduce calcium absorption and should be consumed in lower amounts, Wu said, adding that people should also avoid mixing caffeinated drinks with dairy products.
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