Low-Fat Milk and Childhood Obesity

We hear the advice again and again - have your children drink more low-fat or skim milk!

A study out this month in the Archives of Pedeatrics & Adolescent Medicine found the more milk kids drank, the faster they gained weight. In fact, kids who drank more than three glasses of milk a day increased their odds of becoming overweight by some 35 percent.

The study looked at the milk consumption of 12,000 children (ages 9-14) participating in the Growing Up Today Study (an ongoing project examining the relationship between diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors, and an array of health issues) to uncover any links between milk consumption and weight over 12 months. Even though most kids tracked in the study were drinking low-fat milk, those who drank more than three glasses daily gained the most weight.

In the conclusions, the researchers stated that "Contrary to our hypotheses, dietary calcium and skim and 1% milk were associated with weight gain, but dairy fat was not. Drinking large amounts of milk may provide excess energy to some children."