Hair Minerals and Metabolic Health in Belgian Elementary School Girls

    December 2012 in “ Biological Trace Element Research ”
    Barbara Vanaelst, Inge Huybrechts, Nathalie Michels, María R. Flórez, Maite Aramendía, Lieve Balcaen, Martín Resano, Frank Vanhaecke, Karin Bammann, Silvia Bel‐Serrat, Stefaan De Henauw
    Studysummary Higher hair levels of calcium and magnesium are linked to higher body weight, while lower levels are linked to worse metabolic health. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
    The study on 218 Flemish elementary school girls aged 5 to 10 found that higher hair levels of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and the ratios of Ca/Mg and Ca/phosphorus (P) were associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BF%), suggesting a link to overweight/obesity. Conversely, these minerals were inversely correlated with a metabolic score that included blood pressure, insulin resistance, and non-HDL cholesterol. Girls with three or more metabolic parameters above the 75th percentile had significantly lower hair concentrations of Ca, Mg, and Ca/P, indicating that lower hair mineral levels were associated with a more unhealthy metabolic profile.
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