Milk, Dairy Fat, and Body Weight in Pediatrics: Time for Reappraisal

Abstract

The objective of this study was to review the pediatric literature on the relationship between dairy, milk fat, and body weight to ascertain whether it supports current recommendations to limit dairy fat in children and adolescents. With only a few exceptions, pediatric crosssectional and prospective studies from across the globe have demonstrated significant negative associations between dairy or milk intake and body mass index or body fat. Four studies have looked specifically at the fat content of milk, and none have implicated whole or 2% milk as being more weight inducing than lower fat milk. The pediatric literature on dairy provides no support to the notion that skim milk is more protective against excessive weight gain than whole milk and in fact raises the possibility that the very opposite may be the case. Hypotheses are suggested to explain this. © 2009, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.