Whole-fat dairy products do not adversely affect adiposity or cardiometabolic risk factors in children in the Milky Way Study: a double-blind randomized controlled pilot study

Abstract

Background Limited evidence supports the common public health guideline that children >2 y of age should consume dairy with reduced fat content. Objectives We aimed to investigate the effects of whole-fat compared with reduced-fat dairy intake on measures of adiposity and biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk in healthy 4- to 6-y-old children. Methods The Milky Way Study enrolled 49 children (mean ± SD age: 5.2 ± 0.9 y; 47% girls) who were habitual consumers of whole-fat dairy, then randomly assigned them in a double-blind fashion to remain on whole-fat dairy or switch their dairy consumption to reduced-fat products for 3 mo. Primary endpoints included measures of adiposity, body composition, blood pressure, fasting serum lipids, blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and C-reactive protein (CRP) and were assessed at baseline and study end. Pre- and postintervention results were compared using linear mixed models, adjusted for growth, age, and sex. Results Dairy fat intake was reduced by an adjusted (mean ± SEM) 12.9 ± 4.1 g/d in the reduced-fat compared with the whole-fat dairy group (95% CI: –21.2, –4.6 g/d; P = 0.003), whereas dietary energy intakes remained similar (P = 0.936). We found no significant differential changes between dairy groups in any measure of adiposity, body composition, blood pressure, or fasting serum lipids, glucose, HbA1c, and CRP. Conclusions Our results suggest that although changing from whole-fat to reduced-fat dairy products does reduce dairy fat intake, it does not result in changes to markers of adiposity or cardiometabolic disease risk in healthy children. This trial was registered at www.anzctr.org.au as ACTRN12616001642471.

Conference on ‘Sustainable nutrition for a healthy life’

“…Associate Professor Therese O'Sullivan (Edith Cowan University) highlighted findings from the Milky Way study, a double-blind randomised controlled trial in forty-nine healthy children aged 4 to 6 years who consumed whole-fat dairy or reduced-fat products for 3 months. The results of this pilot study showed no significant differential changes in energy intake or markers of adiposity or cardiometabolic disease risk, suggesting the reduced-fat dairy products do not have health advantages over whole-fat dairy for children (7,8) . Professor Ian Givens (University of Reading) then raised the question of potentially unnecessary restriction of dairy products in the diet due to their high-saturated fat content and therefore increased risk of CVD (9) .…”

Meeting 24-Hour Movement and Dietary Guidelines: Prevalence, Correlates and Association with Weight Status among Children and Adolescents: A National Cross-Sectional Study in China

“…However, a previous study examined the percentage of children and adolescents who consumed different types of milk and found that more than 60 percent of children and adolescents chose low-fat or skim milk, and most overweight individuals did not choose whole milk [ 84 ]. In addition, a latest double-blind randomized study showed that whole milk intake does not increase the risk of obesity [ 85 ]. Therefore, the effect of fat in milk on obesity is negligible.…”

Adiposity associates with lower plasma resolvin E1 (Rve1): a population study

“…Insulin resistance was estimated using HOMA-IR calculated as fasting insulin [µU/ml] × fasting glucose [mmol/L]/22.5). Fatty acids were measured in erythrocytes that were collected and stored at −80 o C until assay [ 20 ]. Plasma leptin and adiponectin were measured in plasma stored at −80 o C using Quantitkine ELISA kits for Human Leptin and Human Total Adiponectin/ Arcp30, respectively (R&D systems Inc, Minniapolis USA).…”