This study from Harvard Medical School examined associations of milk, yogurt, cheese, cream, most dairy and fluid dairy with bone mineral density at femoral neck (FN), trochanter (TR), and spine, and with incident hip fracture over 12-year follow-up in the Framingham Offspring Study. 3,212 participants (+/- 55 years) completed a food frequency questionnaire and were followed for hip fracture until 2005. 2,506 participants had DXA bone mineral density (BMD).
Results indicate that not all dairy products are equally beneficial for the skeleton. Most dairy intake was positively associated with hip and spine BMD. Intake of fluid dairy and milk was related with hip but not spine BMD. Yogurt intake was associated with TR-BMD alone.
Cheese and cream intakes were not associated with BMD. Yogurt intake, only, showed a weak protective trend for hip fracture from 4 servings a week.