High-Milk Supplementation with Healthy Diet Counseling Does not Affect Weight Loss but Ameliorates Insulin Action Compared with Low-Milk Supplementation in Overweight Children1–3

Abstract

Milk consumption has decreased in children over the past years. This may play a role in the prevalence of pediatric obesity, because clinical studies have found a beneficial effect of milk consumption for weight management. The objectives of this study were to test whether high-milk consumption leads to greater weight loss and improvements in metabolic risk factors than low milk consumption during a 16-wk healthy eating diet. Overweight children aged 8–10 y were randomized to either high (4 × 236 mL/d) or low (1 × 236 mL/d) milk consumption. Children were provided dietary counseling on healthy eating at baseline and at wk 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12. Serum glucose, insulin, and lipids were measured in fasting children at baseline and wk 8 and 16. An oral glucose tolerance test and body composition assessment by magnetic resonance imaging were conducted at baseline and endpoint. Body weight changes during the16-wk study not differ between the high-milk (1.3 ± 0.3 kg) and low-milk (1.1 ± 0.3 kg) groups. There was no beverage × week interaction on any of the body composition and metabolic variables studied (blood pressure, serum lipids, glucose, and insulin). There was a beverage × week interaction (P = 0.044) on insulin area under the curve showing a trend toward reduced insulin output with a glucose challenge after high-milk consumption (P = 0.062). These data suggest that in overweight children, high-milk consumption in conjunction with a healthy diet does not lead to greater weight loss but may ameliorate insulin action compared with low-milk consumption.