News that dairy calcium could boost weight loss efforts created quite a buzz last year -- with the dairy industry interests milking the data for all it was worth. At the time, we questioned whether the dairy boon would go bust as dieters turned to full-fat milk products in an effort to shed pounds. Now a study from Purdue University suggests such reservations might indeed have been merited -- while the dairy-weight loss link may have been overblown.
Maintaining a level caloric playing field, researchers divided 155 women into three groups -- a control, a medium-dairy and high-dairy group -- then monitored weight and body fat measurements for a year. The upshot: dairy consumption did not confer a weight loss advantage (if anything, the high-dairy group gained more weight than the other groups, though the difference was not statistically significant).
Another study by the University of Vermont also dimmed dairy's diet halo: 54 borderline obese subjects, divided into high- and low-dairy diets, found no significant differences in lost weight. We have no doubt that a fully balanced diet -- including adequate calcium, from either plant or non-fat dairy sources -- can improve anyone's prospects for long term weight management. But those hoping for a calcium cure-all may find themselves crying over spilt milk.