A new study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, a sister publication of the British Medical Journal, reports that low-fat milk is associated with higher weight in preschoolers. Kids drinking low-fat milk tend to be heavier than those drinking whole milk. Kids drinking skim milk were found to be the fattest of all.
The findings call into serious question the long-held recommendation of pediatricians that parents switch children to low-fat milk at age 2 in order to reduce the risk of weight problems.
It seems this misguided pediatric advice is producing the exact opposite of what was intended.
This large study of 10,700 preschoolers involved interviewing the parents when the children were 2 years old and again at 4 years old. The researchers took direct measurements of each child’s height and weight in order to accurately calculate BMI (body mass index) at both ages.
Researchers found that the kids who drank skim (1%) milk had the highest body fat regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.
The 2% milk-drinking children had the next highest BMI (body mass index) followed by the whole milk-drinking children who were the leanest of all.
Dr. Mark DeBoer said in an email to NPR that he and his co-author Dr. Rebecca Scharf, both of the University of Virginia, were “quite surprised” by the findings as they had hypothesized just the opposite.
Dr. DeBoer added that the data also indicates that the use of low-fat milk did not restrain weight gain in preschoolers over time. He speculated that if you feel fuller after drinking full-fat milk, “it may be protective if the other food options are high in calories.”
In other words, drinking a glass of whole milk for dinner instead of low-fat or skim milk may prevent a child from eating an extra cookie or two later.
Two Other Studies Indicate Lowfat and Skim Milk Make Kids Fatter
This is not the first study indicating that low-fat and skim milk leads to heavier children.
In 2005, a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine concluded that skim and 1% milk were associated with weight gain in children aged 9-14, but dairy fat was not.
A more recent study in 2010 published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that switching from whole milk to reduced-fat milk at age 2 years did not appear to prevent overweight in early childhood.
Take-home lesson for parents? Give your kids whole milk as Grandma and Grandpa did. Taking the fat out of milk doesn’t help one iota in reducing a child’s chances of overweight and obesity. On the other hand, giving a child whole milk appears to be protective of a healthy weight in childhood!
Learn More About Healthy Fats to Stay Slim
Want to learn more about what fats to eat and what fats to avoid to stay slim and healthy? Check out my eBook Get Your Fats Straight – Why Skim Milk is Making You Fat and Giving You Heart Disease and Other Surprising Facts About Fats.
Sources
Whole Milk or Skim? Study Links Fattier Milk to Slimmer Kids
Longitudinal evaluation of milk type consumed and weight status in preschoolers
Milk, dairy fat, dietary calcium, and weight gain: a longitudinal study of adolescents
Prospective association between milk intake and adiposity in preschool-aged children
thank you for posting the truth
But, let’s have the government allow “them” to put aspartame in milk, with no label. 🙁 Thanks for another great post!!! Your blog has long been one of my very favorites. I love the way you present, and substantiate, information. Very much appreciated! <3 Vitality Enthusiast
Sarah,
Thank you for bringing up this important topic. Back in 2006 I submitted an Op-Ed essay in response to the article “In New York Schools, Whole Milk Is Cast From the Menu” by David M. Herszenhorn (2/2/06). Here is the full text of my submission:
Skimming the fat makes milk worse than worthless
The decision by New York City’s school district (see In New York Schools, Whole Milk Is Cast From the Menu, February 2, 2006) to replace whole milk with 1% or skim milk to stem the obesity epidemic among schoolchildren will actually accelerate weight gain, increase the incidence of diabetes, and subvert the primary rational behind milk consumption–the prevention of bone diseases, poor immunity, and eyesight loss.
Let’s first address the claim that reduced-fat milk combats obesity. According to the findings of a survey of 12,000 children between 9 and 14 years of age, conducted by Harvard University researchers and published in the Journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine in June of 2005, that isn’t the case: “Contrary to our hypotheses, dietary calcium and skim and 1% milk were associated with weight gain, but dairy fat was not.” (*)
There are two reasons behind this “phenomenon”:
First, a glass of whole milk contains 8 g of fat and 13 g of lactose, or a total of 124 calories. A glass of 1% and skim milk contains, respectively, 79 and 53 calories. Considering the taste of skim milk, children are more likely to consume 1% milk. The net reduction of energy content between a glass of 3.5% whole and 1% milk is a paltry 45 calories–an insignificant reduction in the interests of preventing obesity. (**)
Secondly, even though each gram of fat provides 9 calories of energy, this value only applies to fat already stored in the body. The net energy value of fat from food sources is considerably less, because dietary fat requires a certain amount of energy to get digested, assimilated, stored, and converted to usable energy in the first place. Besides, most of the saturated fat–the dominant kind found in a glass or two of whole milk–doesn’t become body fat, but is used to synthesize vital substances, such as cellular components, hormones, and vitamins.
Reducing the fat content of milk impacts the children’s health even more negatively than their weight. To begin with, there is nothing natural about skim or reduced-fat milk. It is fortified (***) with synthetic vitamins A (retinyl palmitate) and vitamin D3 (7-dehydro-cholesterol), because natural vitamin A is lost during the removal of fat, while milk is naturally low in vitamin D. Some dairy products are also fortified with calcium because natural calcium is bound by milk proteins, and digests poorly.
The fortification of dairy with vitamin A is mandated by the federal government in order to prevent blindness and poor immunity in children. Vitamin D and calcium are added to protect children from rickets and scoliosis–a softening of the skeletal bones. A vitamin D deficiency is also implicated in type 1 diabetes (****), which predominantly affects children.
Ironically, the fat-soluble vitamins A and D, and the calcium in skim and reduced-fat milk are essentially useless, because they all require the presence of dietary fat in order to get digested. Adding insult to injury, widespread allergies to casein (milk protein) and lactose intolerance causes intestinal inflammation, and renders vitamin A, D, calcium, and other milk nutrients futile. (*****)
As you can see, skimming the fat from milk is yet another case of good intentions gone bad. Who benefits from all this? The milk industry, mostly: the milk fat is sold as butter and cream, while the whey (cheap livestock feed not so long ago), is resold at fat profits as skim or reconstituted 1% milk.
In no way do I wish to imply that diary products are bad. They are indeed a good source of vital nutrients for children of all ages as long as they’re consumed in their natural, unadulterated form. Cheeses and fermented diary products, such as whole milk yogurt or kefir, are best, because the bacterial fermentation eliminates most of the lactose and breaks down the bonds between milk protein and calcium.
If you prefer not to give milk to your child, liquid cod liver oil (not capsules) is the best source for natural vitamins A and D, and equally vital Omega-3 fatty acids. It’s especially beneficial during the winter months, when there isn’t enough sun exposure to synthesize intrinsic vitamin D, and diets are lacking in naturally-ripened produce, which is rich in beta-carotene (a precursor to vitamin A). And there’s no reason to worry about the taste of cod liver oil: the mint- and lemon-flavored varieties available today would be palatable to even the most discriminating five year old.
Got milk? Just make sure it’s whole!
========= end ==========
Guess what, this submission was never published…
Most people don’t realize that children NEED the full fat in milk for their brains to develop properly. Never give a child skim milk…
Yes, this is perhaps the most tragic outcome of the dangerous low-fat myth.
Brains don’t develop properly without fat.
It doesn’t bode well for the future of society.
Last summer my grandson (6) was in a chunkier phase, so his pediatrician, who we love, had us schedule a consult with their nutritionist. First thing out of her mouth, switch to whole milk products including yogurt. Kids absolutely need the fat in the growing a brain process!! The fat satisfies the appetite too so less is more. Also, my grandson grew a couple inches and went back to 50 percentile in height and 75th in weight which the doc was OK with. FTW!!
The kids who drink whole milk probably have parents who are also educated on how to live a healthy lifestyle as well.
The milk doesn’t come out of the cow fat-free or low-fat. Skim and low-fat milk are processed foods. Processed = bad. Organic, raw milk = good, very good! =)
Lol @ just smile and nod. I do that all the time. I know what’s best.
This is very funny considering the advice our doctor just gave me… to switch to 2% for my chunky 2yo. Just smile and nod. I think she would keel over if I mentioned the word “raw”.
Our chunky 2 year old has slimmed down to a perfectly proportioned 3 year old.
What did it? Who knows, but we certinainly didn’t skimp (pun not intended haha) on the full fat raw milk, butter etc.
In fact, she loves nothing more than a ‘taste’ of butter while my husband and I are cooking! Don’t tell the doc that one lol.
To feed babies infant formulas (soy) is a crime and one that has been perpetuated by the food industry. I cannot imagine how the executives and the shareholders of these companies can sleep at night. But the the devil does.