Whole milk over low fat/skim

[Guest guest]

I know there was some recent research publish in the mainstream press

explaining that whole milk was better for you that low fat or fat

free. Right now I can't find any article. Does anyone have a link

for me to this information? I am specifically looking for results of

a recent study I remember hearing about on NPR.

[Guest guest]

We have this in the Files section, too.

~Joe

WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION

INFORMATION ALERT

July 9, 2005

LOW-FAT MILK CAUSES WEIGHT GAIN;

FULL-FAT MILK DOES NOT

A study that followed 12,829 children ages 9 to 14 years found that

weight gain was associated with drinking reduced-fat milk but that

drinking full-fat milk was not associated with weight gain. The study

was published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine,

June 2005

Farmers have known for decades that pigs fed whole milk stay lean and

do not get fat; but pigs fed skimmed milk gain weight easily. Now we

have scientific confirmation that this seeming paradox holds true for

humans as well. The great increase in childhood obesity in this

country has occurred during the period when parents have been

counseled to give their children reduced-fat milk, and when schools

have encouraged the consumption of skim and low-fat milk instead of

whole milk. With the new Child Nutrition Act, signed last June by

President Bush, schools receiving federal school lunch funding are no

longer even required to offer whole milk.

Butterfat in whole milk, particularly butterfat in milk from cows that

graze outside on green pasture, provides unique nutrients that support

thyroid function and help the body put on muscle rather than fat.

The abstract of the study is below:

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 2005 Jun;159(6):543-550,

Milk, dairy fat, dietary calcium, and weight gain: a longitudinal

study of adolescents. Berkey CS, Rockett HR, Willett WC, Colditz GA.

Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's

Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health,

Boston, MA 02115, USA. catherine.berkey@...

BACKGROUND: Milk is promoted as a healthy beverage for children, but

some researchers believe that estrone and whey protein in dairy

products may cause weight gain. Others claim that dairy calcium

promotes weight loss. OBJECTIVE: To assess the associations between

milk, calcium from foods and beverages, dairy fat, and weight change

over time.

Design, Subjects, and Outcome Measure: We followed a cohort of 12, 829

US children, aged 9 to 14 years in 1996, who returned questionnaires

by mail through 1999. Children annually reported their height and

weight and completed food frequency questionnaires regarding typical

past-year intakes. We estimated associations between annual change in

body mass index (BMI) (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by

height in meters squared) and our dietary factors, adjusted for

adolescent growth and development, race, physical activity,

inactivity, and (in some models) total energy intake.

RESULTS: Children who drank more than 3 servings a day of milk gained

more in BMI than those who drank smaller amounts (boys: beta +/- SE,

0.076 +/- 0.038 [P = .04] more than those who drank 1 to 2 glasses a

day; girls: beta +/- SE, 0.093 +/- 0.034 [P = .007] more than those

who drank 0 to 0.5 glass a day). For boys, milk intake was associated

with small BMI increases during the year (beta +/- SE, 0.019 +/- 0.009

per serving a day; P = .03); results were similar for girls (beta +/-

SE, 0.015 +/- 0.007 per serving a day; P = .04). Quantities of 1% milk

(boys) and skim milk (girls) were significantly associated with BMI

gain, as was total dietary calcium intake. Multivariate analyses of

milk, dairy fat, calcium, and total energy intake suggested that

energy was the most important predictor of weight gain. Analyses of

year-to-year changes in milk, calcium, dairy fat, and total energy

intakes provided generally similar conclusions; an increase in energy

intake from the prior year predicted BMI gain in boys (P = .003) and

girls (P = .03).

CONCLUSIONS: Children who drank the most milk gained more weight, but

the added calories appeared responsible. Contrary to our hypotheses,

dietary calcium and skim and 1% milk were associated with weight gain,

but dairy fat was not. Drinking large amounts of milk may provide

excess energy to some children.

********************************************************

Bill Sanda

Executive Director

Weston A. Price Foundation

bsanda@...