New Research Gives More Evidence on Milk's Link to Lower Body Weight
Researchers at the University of Colorado found that when exercising adults on a slightly reduced-calorie diet consumed 3-4 servings of dairy foods each day, their metabolism changed.
04/07/06 Why does consuming more dairy foods when dieting and exercising lead to more weight-loss than just dieting and exercising alone? This is a question the dairy industry and researchers have been asking for years, and now new research published in the December issue of Obesity Research helps shed more light on the answer.
Researchers at the University of Colorado found that when exercising adults on a slightly reduced-calorie diet consumed 3-4 servings of dairy foods each day, their metabolism changed so that their bodies burned more fat than they did when they had one serving of milk and milk products daily under the same conditions.
"This research helps us better understand the mechanism behind the dairy and weight-loss connection," said IDFA Senior Manager of Marketing Victor Zaborsky. "It's important because it strengthens the rationale for using healthy-weight claims in milk advertising, public relations and promotions programs."
The study included overweight men and women, ages 20 to 50, who usually exercised less than three hours a week. Over the course of seven weeks, the subjects participated in four one-week periods in which they consumed either a low-dairy diet or a diet including 3-4 servings of dairy foods each day. Several times during the study, participants' rate of fat oxidation (burning) was measured over a 24-hour period in a room calorimeter, an enclosed area in which very specific measurements can be taken. Room calorimeter studies are usually done with only a few subjects, but this current study included 19 men and women, a particularly large group for this kind of study.
Among the key findings:
* Exercising adults on a slightly reduced-calorie diet who consumed 3-4 servings of dairy foods each day altered their metabolism so that their bodies burned more fat than they did when they had one serving of dairy products daily under the same conditions.
* The study had a very strong design, including a large sample size for this type of research.
* The research shows how reducing calories and exercising while consuming an adequate amount of dairy foods can help improve the body's ability to burn fat, which may lead to the loss of body fat as seen in other weight-loss studies.
