ResearchOriginal ResearchProspective Association between Milk Intake and Adiposity in Preschool-Aged Children
Section snippets
Study Population: Project Viva
From April 1999 to July 2002, we enrolled participants into Project Viva, a longitudinal prebirth cohort of mother−offspring pairs in the Boston, MA, area (24). Recruitment for Project Viva was conducted at eight obstetric practices within Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a multispecialty, managed-care group practice. Women with singleton pregnancies were study-eligible if they entered prenatal care within the first 22 weeks of gestation, intended to continue their obstetric care at Harvard
Results
At age 2 years, the mean total milk intake was 2.6 (standard deviation [SD] 1.2) servings per day, and mean total dairy intake was 4.3 (SD 1.5) servings per day. Of the 852 children, 452 (53.1%) predominantly drank whole milk, 226 (26.5%) drank reduced-fat milk, and 174 (20.4%) drank 1%/nonfat milk. At age 3, 222 (26.1%) had a BMI ≥85th percentile and 76 children (8.9%) had a BMI ≥95th percentile. Among 113 children at age 2 years with BMI ≥85th percentile, 81 (72%) had a BMI ≥85th percentile
Discussion
In this prospective cohort analysis, we found that cow's milk intake at age 2 years, whether full- or reduced-fat, was not associated with incident overweight at age 3 years. Intake of total dairy products at age 2 was not associated with incident overweight or BMI z score at age 3 years. We did find that higher intake of whole milk at age 2 years was associated with a modest −0.09 unit decrement in BMI z score at age 3 years, after controlling for energy intake, 2-year BMI z score, and other
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that a higher intake of milk, whether full- or reduced-fat, is unlikely to prevent development of obesity among preschool-aged children. Milk intake, however, may offer other health benefits, including provision of calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients.
S. Y. Huh is an instructor in pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, and the Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA.
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Cited by (0)
S. Y. Huh is an instructor in pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, and the Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA.
S. L. Rifas-Shiman is a research associate, Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
J. W. Rich-Edwards is an associate professor, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, and the Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
E. M. Taveras is an assistant professor, Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, and the Division of General Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA.
M. W. Gillman is a professor, Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, and the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.