Australian research finds more dairy means less weight

Researchers from the Australian Curtin University of Technology have found that a higher intake of dairy products while on a reduced calorie diet can help fight obesity.

Benefits of increased dairy consumption

In a release on the university’s website, the researchers say that the benefits include greater weight loss and significant improvements in the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The researchers, from Curtin’s School of Public Health, compared three servings of dairy with five servings of dairy within a reduced calorie diet prescribed to overweight participants over a 12-week weight loss trial.

What they found among participants was:

• higher mean levels of weight loss;
• higher mean levels of fat mass loss;
• greater drop of systolic blood pressure; and
• greater total percentage abdominal fat loss.

“Many people commonly believe that when trying to lose weight dairy products are key foods that they have to cut out of their diet as they are high in fat,” says Dr. Chan She Ping Delfos, a scientist who conducted the study as part of her PhD research.

Swedish study

In other news, a study out of Sweden has found children who consumed full fat milk regularly had a lower body mass index compared to those who seldom or never drank milk.