Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T17:52:25.707Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Inverse association between body mass and frequency of milk consumption in children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Gianvincenzo Barba ,
Ersilia Troiano ,
Paola Russo ,
Antonella Venezia  and
Alfonso Siani
Gianvincenzo Barba*
Affiliation:
Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Institute of Food Science, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy
Ersilia Troiano
Affiliation:
Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Institute of Food Science, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy
Paola Russo
Affiliation:
Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Institute of Food Science, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy
Antonella Venezia
Affiliation:
Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Institute of Food Science, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy
Alfonso Siani
Affiliation:
Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Institute of Food Science, National Research Council, Avellino, Italy
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Gianvincenzo Barba, fax +39 0825 299 423, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Recent studies have shown an inverse association between the level of dietary Ca, particularly from dairy sources, and body weight in adults; there is, however, a paucity of data regarding this relationship in children. We therefore investigated this issue in 1087 children who underwent body weight and height measurement during a survey on childhood obesity. Lifestyle and dietary habits were investigated by a questionnaire. After excluding children who were following a dietary regimen for any reason, 884 children (M:F 451:433; age 7·5 (sd 2·1) years) were selected. Milk consumption was pooled into four frequency categories: poor (≤1/week; n 125), moderate (>1 but ≤5–6/week; n 133), regular (1/d; n 408) and high (≥2/d; n 218). The frequency of consumption of milk was inversely and significantly associated (t=–2·64, P=0·003) with age- and sex-specific BMI z-scores by linear regression analysis, controlling for sex, age, physical activity, birth weight and parental overweight and education. The statistical association remained significant (t=–2·831, P=0·005) after the inclusion of children consuming only skimmed milk (n 91). Milk consumption was still significantly and inversely associated with BMI z score (t=–2·791, P=0·005) in the whole-milk consumers when controlling for age and the frequency of consumption of various foods; this association was no longer significant (P=0·21) when children consuming skimmed milk were included in the analysis. This is the first report showing a significant inverse association between frequency of milk consumption and body mass in children. Regardless of the mechanisms involved, our results might encourage further research on this issue and might have important implications for the prevention of obesity.

Keywords

MilkChildhoodObesityPreventionSchool
Type
Short Communication
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 93 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 15 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2005

References

Barba, G, Giacco, R & Clemente, G (2001) The BRAVO Project: screening for childhood obesity in a primary school setting. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 11, Suppl. 4,103–108.Google Scholar
Barr, SI (2003) Increased dairy product or calcium intake: is body weight or composition affected in humans?. J Nutr 133, 245S–248S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carruth, BR & Skinner, JD (2001) The role of dietary calcium and other nutrients in moderating body fat in preschool children. Int J Obes 25, 559–566.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, TJ, Bellizzi, MC, Flegal, KM & Dietz, WH (2000) Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ 320, 1–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davies, KM, Heaney, RP & Recker, RR (2000) Calcium intake and body weight. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 85, 4635–4638.Google ScholarPubMed
Frick, F, Oscarsson, J, Vikman-Adolfsson, K, Ottosson, M, Yoshida, N & Eden, S (2002) Different effects of IGF-I on insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 278, E729–E737.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heaney, RP (2003) Normalizing calcium intake: projected population effects for body weight. J Nutr 133 268S – 270S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ILSI Europe Overweight and Obesity in Children Task Force (2000) Report on Overweight and Obesity in European Children and Adolescents. Causes and Consequences – Prevention and Treatment, Brussels: ILSI Europe.Google Scholar
McCarron, DA, Morris, CD, Henry, HJ & Stanton, JL (1984) Blood pressure and nutrient intake in the United States. Science 224, 1392–1398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nagashima, K, Itoh, K & Kuroume, T (1990) Levels of insulin-like growth factor I in full- and preterm human milk in comparison to levels in cow's milk and in milk formulas. Biol Neonate 58, 343–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Papakonstantinou, E, Flatt, WP, Huth, PJ & Harris, RB (2003) High dietary calcium reduces body fat content, digestibility of fat, and serum vitamin D in rats. Obes Res 11, 387–394.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parikh, SJ & Yanovski, JA (2003) Calcium intake and adiposity. Am J Clin Nutr 77, 281–287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pereira, MA, Jacobs, DR, Jr, Van, Horn, L, Slattery, ML, Kartashov, AI & Ludwig, DS (2002) Dairy consumption, obesity, and the insulin resistance syndrome in young adults: the CARDIA Study. JAMA 287, 2081–2089.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pihlanto-Leppala, A, Koskinen, P, Piilola, K, Tupasela, T & Korhonen, H (2000) Angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory properties of whey protein digests: concentration and characterization of active peptides. J Dairy Res 67, 53–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shah, NP (2000) Effects of milk-derived bioactives: an overview. Br J Nutr 84, Suppl. 1,S3–S10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shahkhalili, Y, Murset, C & Meirim, I (2001) Calcium supplementation of chocolate: effect on cocoa butter digestibility and blood lipids in humans. Am J Clin Nutr 73, 246–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shi, H, Norman, AW, Okamura, WH, Sen, A & Zemel, MB (2001) 1alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 modulates human adipocyte metabolism via nongenomic action. FASEB J 15, 2751–2753.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strazzullo, P, Iacone, R & Iacoviello, L (2003) Genetic variation in the renin–angiotensin system and the development of obesity in men: the Olivetti Prospective Heart Study. Ann Intern Med 138, 17–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teergarden, D (2003) Calcium intake and reduction of fat mass. J Nutr 133 249S – 251S.Google Scholar
Trevisan, M, Krogh, V, Farinaro, E, Panico, S & Mancini, M (1988) Calcium rich-foods and blood pressure: findings from the Italian National Research Council Study (The Nine Communities Study). Am J Epidemiol 127, 1155–1163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xue, B, Greenberg, AG, Kraemer, FB & Zemel, MB (2001) Mechanism of intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) inhibition of lipolysis in human adipocytes. FASEB J 15, 2527–2529.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zemel, MB (2002) Regulation of adiposity and obesity risk by dietary calcium: mechanisms and implications. J Am Coll Nutr 21, 146S–151S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zemel, MB, Shi, H, Greer, B, DiRienzo, D & Zemel, PC (2000) Regulation of adiposity by dietary calcium. FASEB J 14, 1132–1138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed