The journal Nutrition Reviews recently released a review of research that found a positive link between high calcium intake and improved body composition and weight maintenance.
The study concluded that high calcium intake may affect body composition through some combination of reducing body fat mass while maintaining lean body mass, reducing weight gain and increasing weight loss on calorie-restricted diets.
Despite these results and other studies, Americans are not consuming enough calcium. Nearly nine out of 10 women and six out of 10 men do not meet their daily calcium recommendations. Consuming three servings of nutrient-rich, low-fat and fat-free milk, cheese or yogurt a day provides 90 percent of the recommended calcium requirements.
“The calcium and eight other essential nutrients that dairy products provide are critical for an overall healthy diet,” said Ann Marie Krautheim, a registered dietitian and senior vice president of nutrition affairs for National Dairy Council®, the nutrition research arm of the dairy checkoff program. “This review of research concludes that dairy may also help to maintain an overall healthy weight – another great reason to consume three servings of low-fat or fat-free nutrient rich dairy foods a day.”
Science-based nutrition research serves as the foundation for producer-funded efforts to help build demand for and sales of U.S. dairy products by further advancing dairy’s role as part of a healthy diet. In addition to working with health professional partners, checkoff staffs also are communicating the study results to national and local health-focused media to reach other thought leaders and health professionals.