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Educate your patients on the importance of 3-A-Day of Dairy: Here's
a great
tool (PDF: 618k) to show families how to get their 3-A-Day of Dairy
every day for stronger bones.
Developed in conjunction with The American Academy of Family
Physicians, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Dietetic
Association, and The National Medical Association.
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Dairy Council Digest Archives
3-A-DAY OF DAIRY FOR A HEALTHY WEIGHT
Volume 76, Number 6 Nov/Dec 2005
Summary 
Not only is a substantial proportion of Americans overweight or obese, but many are also undernourished. For example, many Americans fail to consume recommended amounts of calcium, primarily because of their low intake of dairy products. Although consuming too many calories in relation to energy expenditure is the primary determinant of overweight/obesity, a growing body of scientific research suggests that adequate calcium and dairy food intake may contribute to a healthy body weight.
Recently conducted randomized clinical trials (considered the “gold standard” of science) in adults provide the most compelling evidence for calcium’s and dairy’s beneficial role in the prevention and treatment of obesity. In these clinical trials of overweight or obese adults (males, females, whites, African Americans) following reduced-calorie diets, increasing consumption of dairy foods (milk, yogurt, or cheese) to 3 servings/day enhances body weight and body fat losses, reduces central (trunk) obesity, and minimizes loss of lean body tissue compared to the same degree of energy restriction while consuming little or no dairy.
Dairy sources of calcium may exert a greater “anti-obesity” effect than calcium alone. In addition, a recent clinical trial in African American adults found that consuming 3 servings of milk, cheese, or yogurt/day not only enhanced body weight/fat loss and helped preserve lean body mass when dieting, but also improved body composition (i.e., reduced total body and trunk fat and increased lean body mass) and metabolic profile during weight maintenance compared to low intakes of dairy products.
Further support for a role of calcium and dairy products in weight management in adults comes from observational studies, although factors such as the level of baseline calcium or dairy intake, gender, and race appear to influence this relationship. Research from in vitro and experimental animal studies suggests potential mechanisms whereby dietary calcium and other components in dairy products may regulate energy metabolism and thereby reduce obesity risk.
The goal of weight management for overweight children and adolescents is to slow the rate of weight gain while achieving normal growth and development. Compared to studies in adults, relatively little research has examined the relationship between calcium or dairy intake and body weight/body composition in children and adolescents. Moreover, most of the studies are observational, which cannot prove a cause and effect relationship. In general, these studies suggest that increasing dietary calcium/dairy intake to recommended levels may play a role in promoting a healthy body weight, lowering the percentage of body fat, or preventing an unhealthy weight gain in children and adolescents.
Additional research is needed to clearly establish the underlying mechanisms and to further understand dairy’s role in weight management. However, this emerging benefit of dairy products in helping to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight provides one more reason why Americans should be encouraged to consume recommended servings of milk, cheese, or yogurt a day within appropriate energy levels. Dairy products are not only important for children’s growth and development, but these foods also have beneficial roles in a variety of chronic diseases. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 3 cups/day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products (e.g., cheese, yogurt) as part of a healthful diet for children 9 years of age and older and for some younger children who are physically active.
Milk, cheese, and yogurt are naturally nutrient-rich foods providing calcium, potassium, other minerals, vitamins, and protein essential for children’s growth and development. Studies in children and adolescents demonstrate that intake of dairy products improves the overall nutritional quality of the diet.
Findings from numerous investigations indicate that consuming recommended servings of dairy foods or dairy food nutrients such as calcium in childhood and adolescence helps to achieve genetically determined peak bone mass, reduce the risk of bone fractures during growth, and protect against osteoporosis and related fractures in later adult years. Intake of vitamin D-fortified milk and milk products may help reduce the risk of rickets and vitamin D insufficiency.
Childhood overweight is currently at its highest prevalence. Epidemiological studies have examined the relationship between dairy/calcium intake and body weight/fat in children. However, the findings are inconsistent due to failure to control for confounding variables (e.g., calorie intake), among other factors. Based on evidence to-date, consuming recommended amounts of dairy foods does not cause unhealthy weight gain in children and adolescents.
Excess body weight is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. Preventing childhood overweight is therefore a public health priority. A new study found that intake of a diet rich in dairy products, fruits and vegetables during the preschool years has a favorable effect on blood pressure throughout childhood and early adolescence. Further research is needed to determine dairy’s effect on children’s body weight/fat and its role in obesity-related co-morbidities.
In addition to overweight, many children are undernourished. Concern about children’s insufficient intake of essential nutrients such as calcium and their declining intake of calcium-rich dairy foods such as milk has led to efforts to increase their consumption of dairy products. Such efforts include improving the look, temperature, taste, and availability of milk in schools and encouraging parents and other care providers to be positive role models by consuming dairy foods themselves and by making these foods readily available.
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