Summary: Whole milk compared with reduced-fat milk and childhood overweight: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Summary: Whole milk compared with reduced-fat milk and childhood overweight: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This summary has been adapted from "Vanderhout, S. M. et al. (2020). Whole milk compared with reduced-fat milk and childhood overweight: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Original Research Communications."
What this means for Kendamil: Research into Whole milk continues to highlight the benefits of whole milk in children's diets. For this reason, we base our infant milk formulations and weaning cereals on whole milk to capture these benefits.
In the past 40 years, childhood obesity has tripled, with 1 in 3 children in North America being overweight (1). At the same time, whole-fat cow milk consumption has decreased by half. North American health authorities, as well as European, British, and Australian health authorities, have recommended that children consume reduced-fat cow milk instead of whole-fat cow milk (2-6). Cow milk is a major source of energy, protein, and fat for North American children, with approximately 88% of children ages 1-3 consuming it daily (7,8). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between whole-fat (3.25%) and reduced-fat (0.1-2%) cow-milk consumption and adiposity in children ages 1-18y, through a review and meta-analysis of the literature. Out of 5862 potentially eligible studies, 28 studies met all of the inclusion criteria. Eighteen studies reported that consumption of higher milk-fat was linked to lower child adiposity. The remaining ten studies were unable to establish a relationship between cow milk-fat and child adiposity. Overall, 20,897 children ages 1-18y from the U.S., UK, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, New Zealand, and Italy were included in the meta-analysis. This systematic review and meta-analysis shows that whole-fat cow milk consumption is associated with a lower likelihood of childhood obesity, contrary to current advice from regulatory authorities. There are multiple theories as to how milk fat and childhood obesity are linked. One view is that the calories in cow milk fat replace calories from less healthy foods (27). Another theory states that milk fat consumption releases cholecystokinin and glucagon-like peptides 1 (GLP1), which induce satiety (27,28) and that this, in turn, reduces total milk intake. Cardiometabolic benefits, such as lower adiposity, serum LDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations and insulin resistance along with higher HDL cholesterol, have been associated with cow-milk fat consumption (29-31). The figure above illustrates the results of the dose-response meta-analysis, demonstrating a linear relationship between the percentage of fat in milk and the odds of childhood obesity.
Research into the relationship between milk fat and child adiposity is ongoing as a more precise understanding is still needed. The evidence from this literature analysis supports the linkage between whole milk consumption and lower adiposity. Still, more clinical trials and cohort studies will need to be conducted to cement the associations observed in this study. References
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