In order to study the best method of education and guidance for increasing calcium intake, we studied the levels of general knowledge and understanding about calcium and its functions. The subjects in the study were 487 and 115 randomly-selected people in Aichi Prefecture during the period from June to September, 1988. The results obtained were as follows. 1) As regards the knowledge level of calcium-containing foods, the highest percentage of correct answers was found in the so-called high

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... ium foods such as milk and many kinds of small fishes. However, our subjects tended to overestimate the calcium content of milk and dried young sardines. In contrast, however, they tended to underestimate the calcium content in less popular calcium-rich foods such as dried bean curd and Komatsuna-green. 2) With respect to the substances to accelerate digestion and absorption, over 50% of the subjects failed to identify vitamin D. 3) Regarding the comprehension level of the physiological functions of calcium and calcium deficiency diseases, the highest percentage of correct answers was found in items of the bone and teeth. (The correct answers for this particular question were: "hardens tissues of the bones and teeth" and "causes the disorder of the bone and tooth formation".) More than 85% of the subjects had no knowledge of other physiological functions of calcium. As for "osteoporosis", the percentage of correct answers was higher in the older age bracket compared to the younger age bracket.