Children who consume the least dairy gain roughly an extra 8-12 pounds by early adolescence

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Monday, July 24, 2006 3:51 am Email this article
Children who consume the least dairy weighed roughly 8-12 pounds more by early adolescence than children who consume the most according to a new study from researchers at Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Increase in BMI

Children eating the least dairy gain an extra two BMI units by 10-13 years-old

The one-third of children who consume the least dairy—less than 1.7 servings for boys and less than 1.25 servings for girls—had an average body mass index (BMI) that was about 2 units higher than the one-third of children who consumed the most dairy by the time they were 10- to 13-years-old.

 

Weight Gain

Two BMI units equals roughly 8-12 pounds

Two units of BMI are equal to:

• 8 pounds for a child 4-feet-six-inches tall
• 10 pounds for a child 5-feet tall
• 11 pounds for a child 5-feet-two-inches tall
• 12 pounds for a child 5-feet-six-inches tall

 

Subjects

Subjects: Children from 99 families followed until 10-13 years old

The study followed 99 families from the Framingham Children’s Study with children up to the age of 6-years-old and followed then through the ages of 10- to 13-years-old.

REFERENCE

Moore LL, Bradlee ML,Di Gao Singer MR. Low dairy intake in early childhood predicts excess body fat gain. Obes Res. 2006 Jun, 14(6):1010-18.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Lynn L. Moore
Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology
Boston University School of Medicine
715 Albany Street
Boston, MA 02118
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Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Childhood Obesity

• Milk and Dairy