West Jordan • Girls in Jordan district's middle and high schools are being encouraged this week to ditch the soda and pick up something pink — strawberry milk.

The district's nutrition services has launched a "Drink Pink" campaign to boost girls' consumption of calcium, which helps build bone density. Every girl in seventh through 12th grades will receive a free bottle of strawberry milk during lunch one day this week.

"It's good that we're starting to drink milk now because it's easier to build stronger bones when we're young," said Haley Hoch, an eighth-grader at West Hills Middle School who polished off her strawberry milk on Wednesday.

In fact, by the time teens finish their growth spurts around age 17, they have developed 90 percent of their adult bone mass, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Calcium is especially critical for girls, said Jordan dietician Vanessa Richards, because women are at greater risk for osteoporosis later in life when their bone mass declines due to hormone changes at menopause. Girls are more likely than boys to not get their daily quota of calcium.

On average, girls age 12 to 19 consume only 60 percent of their daily calcium needs. Boys consume 83 percent, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Kids ages 12 to 18 need 1,300 mg of calcium per day — the amount in a quart of milk.

"Promoting milk is an excellent idea because adolescent females, overall, do not consume enough calcium. … Milk is probably the most calcium dense item in the diet of American teenagers," said Patrice Isabella, the nutrition coordinator for the Utah Department of Health's physical activity, nutrition and obesity program. "Milk intake may have a protective role against developing obesity."

But she would prefer to see kids drinking milk without the sugary strawberry or chocolate flavors. One cup of strawberry milk has twice as much sugar — 25 grams — as unflavored milk.

"However, if strawberry milk is replacing soda, then I'm all for it," Isabella said. She also called the "Drink Pink" idea a "clever" and "catchy" way to reach teen girls.

Richards said schools typically see a decline in milk drinking when flavored milks are removed as an option. So the added sugar is a trade-off for getting kids to consume calcium and the other nutrients, such as Vitamin D, in milk.

Jordan district, which partnered with the Utah Dairy Council on the campaign, also picked a female athlete from each of the district's five high schools to be featured in a poster campaign that encourages students to drink three glasses of milk every day.

"If you like milk, why not be on a milk poster?" said Anita Beales, one of the milk role models. Beales, a volleyball player from West Jordan High, said she's a good fit for the campaign.

"I drink a ton," she said. "It's my water."

rwinters@sltrib.com How much calcium do you need?

Children, ages 9 to 18, need more calcium per day than they do later in life. One cup of low-fat milk contains 321 mg of calcium. Non-fat yogurt has 452 mg per eight-ounce serving. Cheese, dark leafy greens, nuts, grains, beans and also are significant sources of calcium.

Ages 1-3 • 500 mg.

4-8 • 800 mg.

9-18 • 1,300 mg.

19-50 • 1,000 mg.

51 and older • 1,200 mg.

Source: Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, National Academy of Sciences