Calcium needs throughout life

To help us see what’s in our food when we’re shopping, and how this may contribute to our overall diet, food packaging often provides daily benchmark figures for nutrients. This benchmark – sometimes called the Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) or Reference Intake (RI). If a food label includes the amount of calcium in a serving, it usually shows how this contributes to the benchmark figure. For example, a product containing 200mg calcium in a serving may also state this is 25% of the NRV or RI.

Aside from these benchmark figures, there are also more detailed guidelines in the UK for calcium needs at specific ages and stages in life[7],[8].