Source: Thailand Medical News Dec 31, 2019 6 years, 1 month, 1 week, 6 days, 22 hours, 16 minutes ago
A new meta-analysis study led by St. Michael's Hospital of Unity Health Toronto found
children who drank
whole milk had 40 per cent lower odds of being
overweight or
obese compared with
children who consumed reduced-fat
milk.
The study findings, published in
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, analyzed 28 studies from seven countries that explored the relationship between
children drinking cow's
milk and the risk of being
overweight or
obese. None of the studies which involved a total almost 21,000
children between the ages of one and 18 years old, showed that kids who drank reduced-fat milk had a lower risk of being
overweight or
obese. Eighteen of the 28 studies suggested
children who drank
whole milk were less likely to be
overweight or
obese.
The study results challenge Canadian and international guidelines that recommend
children consume reduced-fat cow
milk instead of
whole milk starting at age two to reduce the risk of
obesity.
Dr. Jonathon Maguire, lead author of the review and a pediatrician at St. Michael's Hospital told
Thailand Medical News, "The majority of
children in Canada and the United States consume cow's
milk on a daily basis and it is a major contributor of dietary fat for many
children. In our review,
children following the current recommendation of switching to reduced-fat
milk at age two were not leaner than those consuming
whole milk."
Dr. Jonathan Maguire, who is also a scientist at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, next hopes to establish the cause and effect of
whole milk and lower risk of
obesity in a randomized controlled trial.
Dr. Maguire added, "All of the studies we examined were observational studies, meaning that we cannot be sure if
whole milk caused the lower risk of
overweight or
obesity.
Whole milk may have been related to other factors which lowered the risk of
overweight or
obesity. A randomized controlled trial would help to establish cause and effect but none were found in the literature."
Reference : Shelley M Vanderhout et al, Whole milk compared with reduced-fat milk and childhood overweight: a systematic review and
meta-analysis, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2019). DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz276
