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April 1, 2008Children Benefit from Drinking Chocolate/Flavored Milk |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: "Limiting access to flavored milks in schools and elsewhere may have the undesirable effect of further reducing intakes of many essential nutrients provided by milk." The study compared nutrient intakes and BMIs among 7,557 U.S. children and adolescents ages 2-18 years drinking flavored milk (with or without plain milk), exclusively plain milk and no milk. Results showed milk drinkers (flavored and plain) had significantly higher intakes of vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium than non-milk drinkers. Intake of added sugars did not differ between flavored milk drinkers and non-milk drinkers. Among females 12-18 years of age, average calcium intakes by flavored milk drinkers and exclusively plain milk drinkers were nearly double the calcium intakes of non-milk drinkers. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage children to enjoy three age-appropriate servings of low-fat or fat-free milk, cheese or yogurt each day.2 Currently, less than half of children ages 2-8 and only about one-quarter of children ages 9-19 meet the recommended dairy food intake.3 Flavored milks can provide part of the solution for meeting these recommendations. "Child health is a top priority for the dairy industry and this research shows that both flavored and plain milk can be an important part of children's daily diets," said Karen Kafer, vice president of nutrition affairs-health partnerships at the National Dairy Council. Drinking flavored or plain milk is positively associated with nutrient intake and is not associated with adverse effects on weight status in U.S. children and adolescents.
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