This brief review focuses on children and adolescents, introducing new concepts underlying the effect of yogurt consumption on body weight maintenance and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Yogurt is an easy-to-digest, nutrient-dense, satiating food that contains high-quality protein and specific amino acids such as BCAAs.
Moreover, yogurt may act as a modulator of the gut microbiota in infancy and the specific matrix of yogurt has bioavailability and metabolic properties that can be exploited to increase the functionality of this dairy product.
Epidemiological studies and clinical trials that consider the interactions of yogurt nutrients and bacteria within the food matrix are warranted, in order to evaluate the effect of yogurt on the modulation of gut microbiota and the prevention of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.