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VOLUME 15 NUMBER 1 • JULY 2018
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SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
REVIEW
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Benefits from at least two servings of cow’s milk a day
O
bese children who consume at least
two servings of any type of cow’s
milk daily are more likely to have lower
fasting insulin, indicating better blood
sugar control, according to researchers
at The University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston (UTHealth). The findings
of the study, presented at the European
Congress on Obesity in Vienna, reiterate
the importance of milk in the child’s diet
despite its declining consumption.
‘Our findings indicate that obese
children who consume at least the daily
recommended amount of milk may have
more favourable sugar handling and
this could help guard against metabolic
syndrome,’ said Dr Michael Yafi, the study’s
first author and professor of paediatrics at
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.
‘Worryingly, only one in 10 young
people in our study were consuming the
recommended amount of milk.’
Milk consumption in the US has
consistently fallen over the past few
decades, according to theUSDepartment of
Agriculture, especially among adolescents
where it has dropped by nearly half – to
less than a cup daily – between 1977 and
2006. ‘Parents have started to look at milk
not as a good thing and they are wary of
it. The message to them is not to be scared
of milk, or to limit its consumption, and
to encourage children of all ages to keep
drinking it freely,’ said Dr Mona Eissa, the
study’s principal investigator and professor
of paediatrics and adolescent medicine at
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth.
Themetabolic syndrome is defined as the
presence of at least three of five conditions
that increase the risk of diabetes, heart
disease, and stroke – high levels of blood
sugar or triglycerides, high blood pressure,
excess belly fat, and low ‘good’ cholesterol
levels. A third of American children and
teens are overweight or obese, which
is closely linked to the development of
metabolic syndrome.
Previous studies have shown that milk
protects against the metabolic syndrome
and diabetes in adults, but this is the first
to explore these factors among obese
children. ‘The findings that milk has a
healthy effect on high insulin level, which
may lead to type 2 diabetes, are significant,
particularly given the growing prevalence of
this condition among children nowadays,’
said Eissa, corresponding author.
The investigators assessed daily milk
intake and its association with fasting levels
of insulin – the hormone that stabilises
blood sugar and a biomarker for metabolic
syndrome risk – in obese children and
adolescents attending a paediatric weight
management clinic. They carried out a
retrospective chart review of 353 obese
children and adolescents over a two-year
period (between December 2008 and
December 2010). Information on fasting
serum insulin was available for nearly half
of the participants at their first visit. The
research team also recorded information
on daily milk intake, milk types, daily fruit
juice and other sugary drinks intake, fasting
blood glucose and insulin sensitivity.
More than half of the participants, all
between the ages of three and 18, were
male; three-quarters were Hispanics;
and the average age was 11.3 years. On
average, only 23 of 171 children reported
drinking the daily recommended intake of
two to three cups. Girls reported drinking
less milk than boys, but no difference in
intake was noted by ethnicity.
The study also found that under half
(44%) of children who reported drinking
less than one cup a day had below the upper
normal levels of fasting insulin, compared
to almost three-quarters (72%) of children
who reported drinking more than two cups
a day. Overall, children who drank less than
one cup of milk each day had significantly
higher levels of fasting insulin than those
who drank at least two cups a day.
After adjusting for other aspects that
might affect insulin levels, including race,
ethnicity, gender, level of physical activity,
sugary drinks intake, glucose levels and
type of milk based on fat content, the
researchers found lower fasting insulin
levels among children who drank at least
two cups of milk a day. No association
was noted between milk intake and blood
glucose or lipid levels.
‘The linkbetweensugarydrinks andchild-
hood obesity is well documented. Vitamin D
deficiency has also been connected to this.
By contrast, from a preventive perspective,
our pilot study suggests that milk intake is
not only safe but also may protect against
development of metabolic syndrome,’
Eissa said. ‘Yet fewer children are drinking
enough, especially with growing concerns
over fat content and dairy intolerance. Only
a small percentage of children are actually
intolerant to milk so parents shouldn’t be
afraid of milk or cut back on it.’
Eissa said since the sample size was
relatively small and included mostly Hispanic
children, future studies should be done to
confirm the findings.
“Nonethelessthisstillpresentsreasonable
grounds to stick with the recommended
daily amount and to make friends again
with milk,” Eissa added.
University of Texas Health Science Centre Houston