New study gives insight into the dairy and weight loss link

[Guest guest]

New study gives insight into the dairy and weight loss link

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=15478

A new clinical trial published today in Obesity Research (the journal

of NAASO, the Obesity Society) provides more insight into why

consuming dairy foods is linked to weight and fat loss.

This well-controlled study found that when exercising adults on a

slightly reduced-calorie diet consumed 3 to 4 servings of dairy foods

daily, their metabolism changed so that their bodies burned more fat

than they did when they had one serving of dairy under the same

conditions.

" The design of this study is very strong as all of the subjects

consumed both diets at different times and served as their own

controls, " noted Melanson, Ph.D., lead investigator and

assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado. " Our

data suggest that when you restrict calories slightly and increase

calcium intake by increasing the number of low-fat dairy servings,

the amount of fat you burn over 24 hours is increased. However, the

precise explanation of how increasing dairy servings impacts fat

metabolism and body weight is still unclear. "

The study included overweight men and women, ages 20 to 50, who

usually exercised less than three hours a week. Over the course of

seven weeks, the subjects participated in four one-week periods in

which they consumed either a low-dairy diet or a diet including 3-4

servings of dairy foods each day. Several times during the study,

participants' rate of fat oxidation (burning) was measured over a 24-

hour period in a room calorimeter, an enclosed area in which very

specific measurements can be taken. Room calorimeter studies are

usually done with only a few subjects, but this current study

included 19 men and women, a particularly large group for this kind

of study.

This research shows how reducing calories and exercising while

consuming adequate dairy foods can help improve the body's ability to

burn fat which may lead to the loss of body fat as seen in weight

loss studies.(2,3,4) In fact, this is the third study in the last six

months to add support to the body of research showing a connection

between dairy and weight-management.(1,4,5)

" If weight loss is the goal, then striving to consume enough dairy

products to meet the recommendations for calcium may be beneficial in

terms of weight loss. A few other studies have shown that there may

also be beneficial effects on cholesterol, " noted Dr. Melanson. " For

most people, this would be about 2-4 servings of low-fat dairy foods

each day. "

http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org