Dairy intake and obesity risk among teens

Abstract

Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of a lifetime of obesity & disability in adulthood. Evidence suggests that dairy at recommended levels could be beneficial in weight maintenance. Our aim was to determine if dairy consumption is associated with obesity risk among teens. We conducted a cross‐sectional study among 255 teens (120 males, 135 females) ages 12– 18 years who reported their food intake through a web‐based food frequency questionnaire. Trained dietitians measured anthropometrics. Association between dairy intake—total dairy, cheese, milk, and dairy desserts—on obesity indices (BMI, waist‐to‐ hip ratio [W/H]) for all teens, and body composition (fat mass [FM], fat‐free mass [FFM]) for gender groups, were determined by ANOVA. Groups by dairy intake categories (zero, low, medium, and high) have similar ages. Dairy intake was not associated with BMI. Intakes of total dairy, milk, and cheese were positively associated with W/H (p‐trend for all < .01); high intake was significantly different from medium/low intake (total dairy, 0.81 vs. 0.77; milk, 0.82 vs. 0.78; cheese, 0.81 vs. 0.78). FFM of females was 39.3 kg for high vs. 41.9 kg for low intake (p<.05) while W/H increased with increasing total dairy and milk intake for males (p<.05) but not for females. We conclude that dairy has a neutral effect on BMI but high intake (3+ svgs/d) may potentially increase central adiposity particularly for males