14 December 2005
Media Release
Calcium a key to beating Christmas bulge
Adding dairy to your diet could be a great way for Kiwis to counter the effects on their waistlines of traditional
Christmas over-indulgence, according to recent scientific studies.
Clinical trials have shown a strong correlation between increased calcium intake and reduced body weight, body fat
percentage and waist size.
Furthermore, the research shows that eating or drinking calcium-rich dairy foods appears to produce substantially better
benefits than taking calcium supplements.
With news last week that New Zealand is ranked the seventh fattest nation in the OECD, with around 21 percent of the
population clinically obese, the results couldn’t have come at a better time.
Beverly Watson, Nutrition Manager for Fonterra Brands, says at this time of year people are torn between the desire to
get in shape for summer, and the temptations of the Christmas table.
“Unfortunately, due to misconceptions around the fat content of dairy products, many people trying to lose weight cut
back or even cut out the dairy in their diet. Now we are realising that this approach to weight management may be
counterproductive, Ms Watson says.
“Eating at least three daily servings of dairy foods such as milk, yoghurt and cheese is a dietary behaviour that has
the potential to help prevent weight gain and treat obesity. This new benefit of dairy comes in addition to those that
are already well known such as helping to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and hypertension.”
One of the earliest observations that dairy may help in the management of body fat occurred in a 1980s hypertension
study sponsored by the US National Dairy Council. The subjects were given two cups of yoghurt per day for a year which
resulted in a significant reduction in blood pressure and, unexpectedly, an average 4.9kg reduction in body weight.
Since then a number of other studies have confirmed these results. In 2004 a six-month clinical trial of 32 obese young
adults showed that those who went on a high dairy diet lost 70 percent more weight and 64 percent more body fat than
those on a standard calorie-reduced diet. Results of a study published this year showed obese adults who consumed three
servings of dairy per day as part of a balanced, modestly-reduced calorie diet lost twice as much fat as those who
consumed one serving.
The authors of the 2004 report found that a high calcium diet suppresses the active form of vitamin D which decreases
fat formation and increases fat breakdown. They also found that dairy sources of calcium are twice as effective as
calcium alone for weight maintenance, and concluded this was probably because of the rich collection of bioactive
components that act together in dairy to reduce weight.
ENDS