CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 279Obesity, Physical Activity, DietNutritional Studies and DietNutrition, Health and Food Behavior

Milk, Dairy Fat, Dietary Calcium, and Weight Gain: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescents

Berkey, Catherine S., Rockett, Helaine R. H., Willett, Walter C., Colditz, Graham A.·2005·Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
DOI 10.1001/archpedi.159.6.543
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Milk is promoted as a healthy beverage for children, but some researchers believe that estrone and whey protein in dairy products may cause weight gain. Others claim that dairy calcium promotes weight loss. OBJECTIVE: To assess the associations between milk, calcium from foods and beverages, dairy fat, and weight change over time.Design, Subjects, and Outcome Measure We followed a cohort of 12 829 US children, aged 9 to 14 years in 1996, who returned questionnaires by mail through 1999. Children annually reported their height and weight and completed food frequency questionnaires regarding typical past-year intakes. We estimated associations between annual change in body mass index (BMI) (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and our dietary factors, adjusted for adolescent growth and development, race, physical activity, inactivity, and (in some models) total energy intake. RESULTS: Children who drank more than 3 servings a day of milk gained more in BMI than those who drank smaller amounts (boys: beta +/- SE, 0.076 +/- 0.038 [P = .04] more than those who drank 1 to 2 glasses a day; girls: beta +/- SE, 0.093 +/- 0.034 [P = .007] more than those who drank 0 to 0.5 glass a day). For boys, milk intake was associated with small BMI increases during the year (beta +/- SE, 0.019 +/- 0.009 per serving a day; P = .03); results were similar for girls (beta +/- SE, 0.015 +/- 0.007 per serving a day; P = .04). Quantities of 1% milk (boys) and skim milk (girls) were significantly associated with BMI gain, as was total dietary calcium intake. Multivariate analyses of milk, dairy fat, calcium, and total energy intake suggested that energy was the most important predictor of weight gain. Analyses of year-to-year changes in milk, calcium, dairy fat, and total energy intakes provided generally similar conclusions; an increase in energy intake from the prior year predicted BMI gain in boys (P = .003) and girls (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Children who drank the most milk gained more weight, but the added calories appeared responsible. Contrary to our hypotheses, dietary calcium and skim and 1% milk were associated with weight gain, but dairy fat was not. Drinking large amounts of milk may provide excess energy to some children.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1001/archpedi.159.6.543

Cites

101 of 101 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Berkey, C. S., Rockett, H. R. H., Willett, W. C., & Colditz, G. A.
Affiliations
Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
ORCID
Venue
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
2005-06-01
Volume
159
Issue
6
Pages
543
ISSN
1072-4710 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1001/archpedi.159.6.543
OpenAlex
W2165356561
Cited by
279
References
101
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 22
FWCI
20.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK-46834, P30DK046200, R01DK046834)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
milk consumption, milk fat, dietary calcium, weight gain, body mass index, children, adolescent growth, skim milk, energy intake, estrone, whey protein
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Calcium, Dietary, Energy Intake, Child, Dietary Fats, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Milk, Human, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Factors, United States, Cohort Studies, Weight Gain, Diet Records, Body Mass Index, Multivariate Analysis

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review