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Health & Nutrition News Alert

March - April 2003 (Vol. 7 No. 2)

Fighting the Battle of the Bulge With a 1-2-3 (A Day of Dairy) Punch
Obesity rates are higher than ever with an estimated 61 percent of U.S. adults overweight or obese and 13 percent of children and adolescents overweight, according to government statistics. But the good news is studies show that milk, cheese and yogurt may play a critical role in weight maintenance and weight loss when coupled with a reduced calorie diet. In a recent supplement to the Journal of Nutrition, several experts review recent studies – and present new information – identifying calcium and dairy products as potentially powerful players in the fight against the battle of the bulge. Below are highlights from three of them:

The "anti-obesity" effect of dietary calcium
This paper reviewed various studies that found calcium and dairy products may help regulate body weight. In one study highlighted in the review, mice on a reduced calorie, high calcium diet lost more weight than mice on a reduced calorie, low calcium diet. The author says data from human studies suggest that consuming the recommended amount of calcium daily, specifically from dairy products, may play an important role in the prevention of adult and childhood obesity.

Zemel, M.B. Mechanisms of Dairy Modulation of Adiposity. Journal of Nutrition . 2003; 133: 252S-256S.

Building better bodies, beyond bones
A Creighton University researcher reevaluated data from previously published studies on women and bone health to determine if calcium intake plays a role in the risk of being overweight during mid-life. The analysis found that women who consumed lower amounts of calcium gained an average of nearly a pound a year by mid-life. Conversely, women who consumed higher amounts of calcium – the amount of calcium found in about three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt – averaged a slight weight loss. While the researcher cautions against over-zealous interpretation of the results, he estimates the incidence of overweight and obesity may be reduced by as much as 60 to 80 percent if dietary calcium intakes were shifted upward to the current recommendation of 1000 mg a day (for women ages 19-50).

Heaney, RP. Normalizing Calcium Intake: Projected Population Effects for Body Weight. Journal of Nutrition . 2003; 133:268S-270S.

Calcium enhances weight loss efforts
Research in animals and humans over the past 10 years suggests that if Americans increase their consumption of dairy products and calcium, they may be on their way to reducing the growing epidemic of obesity and insulin resistance syndrome. The review looked at studies that included a wide age range of Caucasians and African Americans, both male and female, and found that increased calcium intake may help increase weight and/or fat loss. The author concludes, "calcium and dairy products should not be removed from weight loss diets, but instead may enhance the effects of the diet."

Teegarden, D. Calcium intake and reduction in weight regulation. Journal of Nutrition . 2003; 133: 249S-251S.

Women May Reduce Cancer Risk with More Calcium
A new study shows that high calcium intake may lower colorectal cancer risk in women. Researchers studied the diets of 61,463 Swedish women for an average of 11.3 years to determine whether there is an association between dietary intakes of calcium, vitamin D and colorectal cancer risk. Using data from a food frequency questionnaire, researchers found that high dietary calcium intake was associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, particularly cancer of the distal colon. Women over the age of 55, with the highest dietary calcium intake (816 to 1,300 mg/day) had a 67 percent significantly lower risk of developing cancer of the distal colon, and a 34 percent lower risk of all colorectal cancers than those with the lowest dietary calcium intake (176 to 568 mg/day). There was no clear association between vitamin D intake and colorectal cancer risk. The authors state their data suggest the association might be strongest in post-menopausal women, but that further study is needed on this point.

Terry, P. et al. Dietary calcium and vitamin D intake and risk of colorectal cancer: A prospective cohort study in women. Nutrition and Cancer . 2002; 43(I), 39-46.

{Editor’s note: According to the American Cancer Society, in 2002, there were an estimated 57,300 new cases of colon cancer in women.}

Milk-Drinking Kids Lead to Better Bones Later in Life
According to a recent study, women with low milk intake during childhood and adolescence have less bone mass and are at greater risk for fractures as adults. Using NHANES III (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, 1988-1994) data of 3,251 non-Hispanic white women ages 20 and older, researchers measured participants’ hip bone density, evaluated past and current dietary calcium intake through 24-hour recall and food frequency questionnaires, as well as classified their fracture history into childhood (before age 13) fractures and osteoporotic (after age 50) fractures. Results indicate that the bone mineral content of women ages 20 to 49 was 5.6 percent lower in those who consumed less than one serving of milk a week than in those who consumed more than one serving of milk a day during childhood. Additionally, low milk intake during childhood was associated with a 3 percent reduction in hipbone mineral content and bone mineral density, as well as a two-fold greater risk of fracture. The researchers note that milk provides a variety of nutrients (protein, vitamin D, phosphorus, zinc and magnesium) that may favor bone mineralization.

Kalkwarf, et al. Milk Intake during childhood and adolescence, adult bone density and osteoporotic fractures in US women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003; 77: 257-265.

Tucker, K.L. Does milk intake in childhood protect against later osteoporosis? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003; 77: 10-11.

{Editor’s note: a corresponding editorial by K.L. Tucker notes the compelling results of this study. Particularly, Tucker notes that "attention should be given to the potential for future effects of diminished milk intake on bone status and risk of fracture as there is growing pressure on schools to stock vending machines with soda and other caloric beverages that lack calcium."}

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You can rely on the National Dairy Council and the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council of (ADA/DC) Nebraska for credible, up-to-date news on dairy nutrition research, public policies on nutritional issues and special dairy nutrition campaigns. Please browse the Nutrition/Health Research tab for more information. If you need addition information or would like to schedule an interview, please contact Director of Nutrition Education Jennifer Meyer at (402) 592-3355 or toll free at (888) NEB-MILK.