Among 4 years old polish children, regular yogurt consumption (5 servings/week) was associated with a higher macro and micro-nutrients intake vs low or non consumers.
Because sugary drinks are a considerable concern in the current context of obesity, milk represents a beneficial alternative for controlling the weight of young children better. This is what has come out of this study led among a cohort of 366 young Danish children.
The team of researchers from Denmark and Australia conducted a secondary analysis of the Healthy Start Study, a 1.5-year randomized controlled trial designed to prevent overweight in young children aged from 2 to 6. Their analysis reveals that sugary drink intake and the substitution of these drinks with milk is associated with a change in weight and BMI. Each increase of 100ml of sugary drink intake is associated with a 100g gain in body weight and 0.06 units of BMI.
However, daily substitution of 100g of sugary drink with 100g of milk is inversely associated with weight (-160g) and BMI (-0.07 points). The authors concluded that, in line with the current recommendations, sugary drinks should be discouraged to help prevent childhood obesity and that milk constitutes a good alternative, in particular among young obesity-predisposed children.
The US Dietary Guidelines are updated every 5 years, to take into account changes in knowledge of nutrition. The latest edition 2015-2020, which has just come out, draws particular attention to the insufficiency of the average consumption of dairy products.
The report highlights that, although the intake of dairy products is satisfactory between the ages of 1 and 3, it is below the recommendations for all other age groups. The difference between consumption and recommendation begins at infancy, increases with age and continues later on in life. Milk and cheese represent 51% and 45% of the category respectively, whereas yogurt only counts for 2.6%.
The recommendations call for increased availability of fat-free or low-fat forms of dairy products, including milk, yogurt and cheese. Sweetened versions can form part of this as long as the added sugars adhere to the limits set of 10% of the total energy. The document additionally recommends favoring yogurt over cheese, especially with regard to the latter’s content of saturated fatty acids and salt. One of the tips for attaining the recommended intake of dairy products is to consume yogurt as a snack or as an ingredient in prepared dishes such as salad dressings or spreads.
Selected for you this week: Plain, non-fat Greek yogurt as a full and satisfying snack, while enhancing your weight loss efforts, by Joy Bauer. Every week, we bring you valuable quotes from around the web on yogurt.
Yogurt has a much higher concentration of protein, vitamins and minerals than milk—anywhere from 20 percent to 100 percent more—part of the reason it’s regarded as a dietary powerhouse! Another bonus is that the bacteria break down the sugars in the milk, making yogurt a food that can be more easily digested by those with lactose intolerance.
Learn more about yogurt and it’s components here.
People who ate at least one small 125g pot of full fat yogurt a day were 19 per cent less likely to be obese compared to those who ate less than two pots a week. However, eating low fat yogurt did not appear to have any impact on the risk of obesity. The authors of this Spanish study believe this may be due to the extra sugar added to low fat versions. The effects were most marked in people who already ate a healthy Mediterranean diet, high in fish, vegetables and olive oil.
In this group, those who ate 1 pot of yogurt per day were 25 per cent less likely to be obese than those who ate 2 pots a week without the Mediterranean diet. Overall, people who ate at least 1 small pot of yogurt per day were 12 per cent less likely to be obese compared with people who ate less than 2 pots a week. The greatest effect of yogurt on obesity was found in people who ate full fat yogurt and a rich Mediterranean diet who were 36 per cent less likely to be obese than those who did not eat yogurt often and did not follow the Mediterranean diet.
A diet high in yogurt and fruit was linked with a 21 per cent lower risk of obesity, it was found.
We are very happy to introduce Jessica Fishman Levinson (MS, RDN and CDN), she is a registered, New York State-certified dietitian nutritionist and the founder of Nutritioulicious, a New York-based nutrition communications and consulting business with a focus on culinary nutrition.
Jessica shares with us a few reasons why yogurt is great for your growing kids.
I am a big proponent of yogurt and recommend it to adults and children alike. It’s an excellent source of protein, calcium, and potassium, of which the latter two nutrients have been identified as nutrients of concern for underconsumption by the scientific advisory committee of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines.
Besides the nutritional benefits of yogurt, I recommend it because it makes a very satisfying and satiating component of meals, especially breakfast and snacks. It’s also extremely versatile and there are various ways to use yogurt in the kitchen, especially as a replacement for higher-fat ingredients like sour cream, mayonnaise, and butter. For example, I use yogurt in dips and sauces like my Lemon Yogurt Sauce and Pumpkin Spice Yogurt Sauce, in baked goods like my Chocolate Pear Bread, and as a base for creamy salad dressings like this Citrus Yogurt Vinaigrette.
Kids are notoriously picky, but many children seem to enjoy dairy-rich foods like yogurt, milk, and cheese, which is great since these are foods that are rich in the nutrients of concern previously mentioned – calcium, potassium, and vitamin D.
Yogurt is a great base for a nutrient-rich breakfast to start the day for kids who are going off to school and need a protein-rich breakfast to keep them satiated and their energy up through the morning. It’s also an easy and convenient snack that parents can send in the lunchbox or have readily available for kids when they get home from school.
One issue that I often hear about with yogurt is the sugar content of flavored yogurts and parents’ concern over the added sugars. While it’s ideal for kids to eat plain yogurt, it’s not always realistic as it can be too tart for many children’s palates. What I often recommend is for parents to mix plain yogurt with a fruit-flavored yogurt so that it’s not as tart, but also not as sweet. If that’s something parents don’t have the time to do, I’m not opposed to children eating a fruit-flavored yogurt because the nutritional benefits of yogurt are so great that I would rather children get those nutrients and cut the added sugar from elsewhere in the diet.
I think the most important thing for kids to learn is no different than what a lot of adults need help with – managing portion sizes and how to recognize hunger and fullness. While many kids have a preference for sweet and salty foods (namely baked goods, crackers, chips, etc), the downside to eating these foods is generally the amount they eat and that they don’t register their fullness because these foods are easy to overeat.
I’m a believer in Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility in which caregivers are responsible for what, where, and when food is given to children, whereas children are responsible for whether they eat it and how much they eat. However, I think within this division of responsibility it’s important for caregivers to recognize when a child may be overeating and help the child learn some behavioral modifications to help slow down and register intake.
Jessica Fishman Levinson, MS, RDN, CDN is a registered and New York State-certified dietitian nutritionist and the founder of Nutritioulicious, a New York-based nutrition communications and consulting business with a focus on culinary nutrition. Jessica has extensive experience as a recipe developer, writer, editor, and speaker. She is the co-author of We Can Cook: Introduce Your Child to the Joy of Cooking with 75 Simple Recipes and Activities (Barron’s, 2011), the Culinary Corner columnist for Today’s Dietitian Magazine, and maintains the popular Nutritioulicious blog. Jessica has been featured as a nutrition expert on television and radio outlets, including NBC, Fox 5, and NY1, in national magazines like Prevention, Glamour, Fitness, and Woman’s Day, and on numerous health and lifestyle websites. Jessica has an MS in Nutrition and Dietetics and a BA in Psychology, both from New York University. She is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) and various Dietetic Practice Groups of the AND, including Nutrition Entrepreneurs, Dietitians in Business and Communications, and Food and Culinary Professionals. In addition to her professional work, Jessica enjoys all things related to food and wine and spending time with her husband and twin daughters.
Blog: www.nutritioulicious.
Even in a society with an abundant supply of food, a large proportion of the population does not meet the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for several vitamins and minerals. This modelling study shows that increasing the consumption of dairy products, according to the recommended quantities, is a simple measure that could significantly improve nutrition and health.
This study used data from the 2007-2010 What We Eat in America National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The researchers observed that a majority of children of 4 years and older, and nearly all adults do not meet the recommended 2.5 to 3 daily portions. Then, they evaluated the impact of an increase in dairy consumption in order to meet the recommended quantities in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).
The model shows that an increased consumption of dairy foods, according to dietary guidelines, would mean a significant reduction in the percentage of adults with intakes lower than the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) of calcium, magnesium, Vitamin A and Vitamin D. Increasing dairy group consumption, including milk, cheese and yogurt, to the DGA recommended amounts is therefore one practical dietary change that could significantly improve the population’s adequacy for certain vitamins and minerals that are currently under-consumed.
Despite data suggesting an inverse relationship between the consumption of yogurt and obesity, a cause and effect relationship has not been established to date. This prospective study reports that the consumption of whole milk yogurt is associated with beneficial changes in terms of waist circumference.
No less than 4545 individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease were studied in this PREDIMED study. Consumption of yogurt was evaluated using the food frequency questionnaire by separating whole-fat from low-fat yogurt. The rate of reversion of abdominal obesity was evaluated based on yogurt consumption quintiles.
No significant association with abdominal obesity reversion (measured by a decrease in waist circumference) was found for overall yogurt consumption, but it was for whole milk yogurt. The probability of seeing a decrease in abdominal obesity is also significantly higher where whole milk yogurt is consumed, which makes this type of yogurt a good choice for individuals with a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease.
