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The consumption of whole milk products is not associated with weight gain, on the contrary, show the results of a study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

A Swedish team followed for nine years 19,352 women aged forty to 55 years at the time of inclusion in the study to examine the link between changes in the frequency and type of consumed dairy products (milk and whole cream , 3% fat, semi-skimmed milk, 1.5% fat, skimmed milk and cream, <0.5% fat, cheese and butter) and the evolution of body weight.

The researchers formed four groups based on the frequency of intake of dairy products: the first, composed of women whose contributions have remained constant, not exceeding a daily portion and the second consisting of women whose contributions have increased with time, from less than one daily serving more than one per day, and the third, for which daily intakes were always superior to a daily portion, and the last, composed of participants who reduced to less than one serving per day their daily intake of dairy products.

Weight gain for women whose daily whole milk products and cheese intake was at least a portion was lower than that of women consuming less regularly this type of product, the researchers reported.

This beneficial effect of whole milk products has not been observed with low-fat products. It was also found only in women with a body mass index (BMI, weight ratio of the square of height) considered "normal" at the beginning of the study (that is to say between 20 and 25), says the lead author of the study, Dr. Magdalena Rosell, which may mean that the association between dairy consumption and weight gain can be not reflect a direct influence of these foods.

Indeed, it is quite plausible that women who prefer full-fat dairy products have also eating habits that help maintain their weight. Just as it is likely that women have chosen to drink skim milk products due to weight gain, milk becoming a marker rather than a cause of weight gain, says the researcher.

If the new results are consistent with the thesis that the calcium in dairy products promotes weight loss by participating in the assimilation of fat-theory refuted by many studies, they must however be confirmed in of other studies. In the meantime, the authors believe that it is not necessary to modify the recommendations incentive to prefer fat dairy products, including saturated fat content is lower than that of whole milk products.