Low-fat dairy doesn’t help kids drop pounds: study | Reuters

Posted On April 29, 2011

Kids who swap out regular dairy products for low-fat varieties consume less saturated fat but don’t seem to lose weight, according to Australian researchers.

They found neither weight nor body mass index (BMI) had changed noticeably six months after children switched to low- or reduced-fat dairy products.

Instead of trimming their waistlines, kids who slashed fat intake appeared to compensate by eating more calories from other sources, according to the new findings, which appear in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Still, there might be other benefits to cutting back on saturated fat, said Dr. Frank Franklin, a retired professor of nutrition and pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who was not involved in the study.

For instance, it might help kids stave off heart disease as they grow up, Franklin told Reuters Health.

For the study, Gilly Hendrie and Rebecca Golley of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization divided 145 kids ages four to 13 into two groups. The researchers asked one group to replace their dairy products with low-fat varieties for six months, while the other got no dietary advice.

Low-fat dairy doesn’t help kids drop pounds: study | Reuters