Health and Nutrition

Dairy's role in weight management - the evidence is growing

A growing body of research suggests that milk, cheese and yogurt may play a role in weight management efforts when coupled with a balanced reduced-calorie diet. Additional research is being conducted in this exciting area of nutrition.

Adults

  • This research review concluded that dietary calcium may play an important role in the regulation of energy metabolism and may result in a reduction of body fat and an acceleration of weight and fat loss during caloric restriction. This review also concluded that dairy sources of calcium demonstrate substantially greater effects than supplemental or fortified sources.
Zemel, MB. Role of dietary calcium and dairy products in modulating adiposity. Lipids. 2003; 38(2):139-146.

  • Dietary calcium may play a role in regulating body weight, supporting the hypothesis that increasing dietary calcium or dairy intake may reduce future weight gain.
Parikh SJ, et al. Calcium intake and adiposity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003; 77:281-287.

  • A research review concluded that nutrients found in dairy, including calcium, may contribute to the reduction of body weight, body fat and insulin resistance syndrome.
Teegarden D, et al. Symposium: Dairy product components and weight regulation. Journal of Nutrition. 2003; 133: 243S-256S.

  • Data from more than 550 women was reevaluated to assess the effects of calcium on weight gain. While calcium is only one factor that potentially affects obesity, findings from this reanalysis of data suggest that increasing calcium intakes to recommended levels may reduce the incidence of overweight and obesity by 60 percent to 80 percent in a population. This is an estimate and the conclusion is based on data projection.
Heaney RP, et al. Normalizing calcium intake: Projected population effects for body weight. Journal of Nutrition. 2003; 133:268S-270S.

  • Low daily calcium intake was associated with greater body fat and body weight, particularly in women.
Jacqmain M, et al. Calcium intake, body composition, and lipoprotein-lipid concentrations in adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003; 77:1448-1452.

  • In a study involving 35 non-obese, healthy adults, a higher dietary calcium intake over a 24-hour period was associated with burning significantly more body fat, even during sleep.
Melanson EL, et al. Relation between calcium intake and fat oxidation in adult humans. International Journal of Obesity. 2003; 27: 196-203.

  • Consuming a diet high in fruit, vegetables, reduced-fat dairy and whole grains, and low in red and processed meat, fast food and soda, was associated with smaller gains in body mass and waist circumference.
Newby PK, et al. Dietary patterns and changes in body mass index and waist circumference in adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003; 77:1417-1425.

  • Obese people who consumed three to four servings of milk, yogurt or cheese while on a balanced, reduced-calorie diet, lost significantly more weight and fat than those who consumed equivalent amounts of calcium through supplements, or who consumed one or fewer servings of milk, yogurt or cheese per day.
Zemel MB, et al. Dietary calcium and dairy products accelerate weight and fat loss during energy restriction in obese adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2002; 75(2S):342S. Abstract.

  • Among overweight young adults, increased dairy consumption may protect overweight individuals from the development of obesity and insulin resistance syndrome and may reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Obesity is one of the risk factors of insulin resistance syndrome.
Periera MA, et al. Dairy consumption, obesity, and the insulin resistance syndrome in young adults: The CARDIA Study. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002; 287:2081-2089.

  • Women who consumed higher levels of calcium, the majority of which came from dairy products, had lower body weights than women who consumed less calcium. Results from this study indicated that women weighed an average of 17.6 pounds less for every 1,000 milligrams of calcium consumed.
Davies KM, et al. Calcium intake and body weight. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2000; 85(12): 4635-4638.

Children and Adolescents

  • Adolescent boys who drank three servings of milk daily while participating in a standardized strength training program had significantly greater increases in bone mineral density and a better overall nutrient profile with significantly higher intakes of vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin, calcium and phosphorous, than boys who drank juice. The author noted that although not statistically significant, there were trends for the milk group to lose more body fat after training.
Volek JS, et al. Increasing fluid milk favorably affects bone mineral density responses to resistance training in adolescent boys. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2003; 103:1353-1356.

  • Girls ages 9 to 14 who consumed diets rich in calcium weighed less and had less abdominal fat than girls who consumed less calcium. For every 300 milligrams of calcium consumed, girls were, on average, 1.9 pounds lighter.
Novotny R, et al. Higher dairy intake is associated with lower body fat during adolescence. FASEB Journal. 2003; 17(4):A453.8. Abstract.

  • Dairy consumption in adolescent girls is not associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) or an increase in percentage of body fat.
Phillips SM, et al. Dairy food consumption and body weight and fatness studied longitudinally over the adolescent period. International Journal of Obesity. 2003; 27(9):1106-1113.

  • In this study, a children's diet rich in calcium and dairy foods was associated with lower body fat than a children's diet with lower calcium and dairy product intakes.
Carruth BR, et al. The role of dietary calcium and other nutrients in moderating body fat in preschool children. International Journal of Obesity. 2001; 25:559-566.