Childhood dairy intake leads to better adolescent bone health

Children who drink milk and consume other dairy products (two or more servings a day) are likely to have stronger bones in adolescence, according to a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Dr. Lynn Moore and colleagues from Boston University School of Medicine analysed data from the Framingham Children's Study in an effort to understand the relationship between childhood dairy intake and adolescent bone health.

Food dairies

The researchers gathered information from 106 children, 3 to 5 years of age at the beginning of the study, over a 12-year period. The families enrolled in the study were given food diaries to complete for the child and were asked to record everything the child ate and drank for several days each year.
At the end of the 12-year period, the authors assessed the bone health of the now adolescent study participants. They found that the adolescents who had consumed two or more servings of dairy per day as children had higher levels of bone mineral content and bone density.
Even after adjusting for factors that affect normal bone development, including the child's growth, body size, and activity level, the authors found that these adolescents' average bone mineral content was 175g higher than the adolescents who had consumed less than two servings of dairy per day.

(Dairy Markets; Friday August 15, 2008)