(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you are giving your kids calcium supplements in the hopes it will help give them strong bones, you may be wasting your money. A new study reveals calcium supplements don't increase children's bone density enough to make the supplements beneficial. Diet and exercise modifications are a better treatment, according to researchers at the Menzies Research Institute in Australia.

The researchers report children taking calcium supplements only gain small improvements in bone density. What's more, these small improvements are not even in areas that are commonly at risk of breaking.

These figures came from an overview study of 19 previous studies involving 2,859 children between ages 3 and 18. All studies indicated calcium supplements have little impact on bone density growth in children.

It is important for kids to grow strong bones. On average, an individual obtains at least 90 percent of maximum bone mass by age 18. By building bone mass density as children, people can avoid developing osteoporosis as adults.

Study authors conclude other approaches like increased physical activity and improved diet could be more beneficial to bone density growth. They also suggest children should maintain a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and vitamin D.

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SOURCE: The British Medical Journal, published online Sept. 15, 2006