Despite the ads - More milk means more weight
 

Washington Post article.

Maybe greedy kids just drink more milk?

My brother, sister and I were milk fiends. We had 3 pints a day delivered to our house. We were all thin as a rail until we were in our 20s - my sister stayed thin through diet and lifestyle, my brother got a paunch that he exercises and diets off in spurts, and I became a pudding through over-eating and drinking.

Milk's calorie count is similar to that of juices and sodas.

Which is why our kids all drink 2% and we eat low fat or no fat Cottage cheese.

We drink a lot of 1% milk in our household. Skinny, we are.

But

An 8 oz glass of milk has as much fat as three slices of bacon.

Do younger kids really care about this? IMO, no. They only want what food and beverages that taste good.

Also, the article doesn't even mention fat free milk, which I drink.

Yes, I'm fat according to the frakkin' BMI, l but it ain't from the milk.

Reading for statistical and numerical literacy: those consuming 4, 5, 6, 7 or more cups of milk per day were 35% more likely to become overweight than those who drank 1 or 2.

One serving of whole milk:

http://cellar.org/2008/wholemilk.png

If a child's diet is 1500 calories per day, 4 cups is 584 calories, approximately 40% of that. That's over a third of required calories just in beverage.

7 cups is 1022 calories or about 70% of the calories needed. So this outcome is expected.

Here's another article (USA Today), about men this time.

Doesn't it all come back to calories? More calories unburned = more weight gain.
I'm sure there are lots of fat people that eschew dairy products by choice or by circumstance... and skinny people that do a lot of dairy.

Milk Type Amount Calories Kilojoules
Reduced Fat / Lite Milk

1 cup - 130 calories - 545 Kilojoules


Milk Type Amount Calories Kilojoules
Skim Non Fat

1 cup - 110 Calories - 460 - Kilojoules

http://www.positivehealthsteps.com/c...calories.shtml

Really the bigger issue and a good reason to drink milk is because the majority of the development of our bone matrix maxes out around the age of 20. Poor calcium intake in the growing years contributes to the formation of osteoprosis and poor bone maxtix in later years. For many of us it is to late. If we could get our kids to take a daily multi-vitamin that includes calcium it would help a lot, but most kids don't take them and most parents don't offer them.

Here is another counter. Be careful as the weight at the top must be selected. Includes all kinds of milk including human.
http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/Foo...79/1/Food.aspx

Merc, doesn't the high animal protein content in milk basically cancel out the calcium content?

"Osteoporosis is caused by a number of things, one of the most important being too much dietary protein."
{Science 1986;233, 4763}

And yes Bruce, I think I agree with you, although I wouldn't discount other factors if there was supportive evidence that wasn't a complete joke paid for by the industry that would benefit from it. This is what I disagree with;

Actually milk is not the best way to consume calcium, it is just the most culturally recognised and easiest to get children to swallow.

Yeah, it's hard to persuade the govt to back a "Give daddy a bj campaign" and the little sods tend to spit anyway.....

Jinx, I think you are talking about this:
http://www.uswellnessmeats.com/Calci..._and_Facts.pdf

{note the link is a non-meat eating supporting site so there may be a bit of biased info on it.}

There is a big dispute between the Vegans and the Meat Eaters concerning the role that proteins play. As you can imagine there is quite a bit of contradicting information on the internet. Generally most agree that high or large amounts of protein of any kind, not only animal, can contribute to calcium loss. That is the part they don't tell you and the emphasis on the "animal" portion is another ploy to discourage meat eating and encourage their own lifestyle. Whatever. Eat right, include lots of veggies and fruits and eat in moderation we should all be healthier. There is no promise you will not die of heart disease or cancer because of it, but you may feel better to the bitter end.

This seems like a fairly balanced article that anyone should be able to understand:

http://www.rd.com/how-to-get-the-cal...icle10686.html

jinx quotesd:
Those who drank more than three eight-ounce servings of milk a day gained the most weight, even after the researchers took into consideration factors such as physical activity, other dietary factors and growth. The association held, even though most of the children were drinking low-fat milk.

"That was surprising," Berkey said. "Apparently this applies to any kind of milk."

More than three glasses. Not any, but More than three glasses. Aren't kids who drink that much likely to be over-consumers in general and therefore likely to be fat? Not necessarily because of the milk. Three glasses is quite a lot. My kids are milk drinkers, but I doubt they manage that much each day. One on the cereal, one when they get home from school and maybe one with dinner.

You didn't mention who funds the group producing this reasearch. soy milk producers, perhaps?

No, I'm talking about high protein levels (from any source) raising the acidity of the body - causing the body to leech calcium from the bones to neutralize it.

The growth hormones, pesticides, dioxins, Igf1, etc. are just extra nasties to consider when choosing a beverage.

[Ar least] One of the studies that found no weight loss difference between its high and low dairy consuming participants was funded by the dairy council - they don't quote that one in their commercials though.

no weight loss difference is not the same as weight gain.... ;)

but still, I imagine most reasearch on milk is funded at least in part by the dairy peeps. I'd be more concerned if they weren't funding any...

Different study - different conclusion.

different sponsors? :p

The first study was performed by Catherine S. Berkey of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. You can google thier bias if you're interested. I did.

I used to know a nurse at Brigham & Women's, that liked... nevermind:blush:

I still submit there is bias on both sides of the issue. There is no doubt that protein plays a role in the loss of calcium from the body. It is much more complicated than a simple "if this, than this". Most researchers are sponsored by someone for their published research regardless of what school they hail from. JMHO.

Moderation, as usual, is probably key. Here's what Dr. Weil says on the topic, and he's a pretty moderate alternative physician:

My mother was a great believer in milk. Till I left her house (at 17) I was required to drink three 12-oz glasses of 2% milk per day -- breakfast, lunch and dinner. I certainly didn't want that much milk, but it was a requirement.

Ditch the excessive soda drinking ( like me- burp) j/k

and ditch the excessive fast food, hotdogs,chips,cookies ect, get more activity in and keep the milk.

Ummmm, I was thinking more tofu or broccoli...

I've always heard that even 1% milk has more fat than we really need; the perception that you've gone all the way down to 1 % is misleading. I found the following chart:

CHO?

carbs, dude
 

Yes, all types of milk have the same quantity per serving of this lady:

do you have asthma?

Asthmatics are more likely to be allergic to milk, no? I used to love milk, but then it was diagnosed as one of my worsed allergies, so I had to stop drinking it. now I really can't stand it.

Yebbut, if we lived life according to what we actually really need... well..... no chocolate, no Jeeps, no literature, no art, no space exploration, no..... no kittens?

I've always enjoyed a glass of milk before bed.

and, hey! I've always been heavy.

Coincidence?

I drink none and I'm a tub o' lard......

I drink plenny every day and I'm too skinny!

The milk "with knives" will help you lose tons of weight.

B4 reading this article, I would've that was crazy talk.

I drink at least a large glass of No Fat milk every nite before bed, then milk in my tea.

The boys are huge milk drinkers and as skinny as bean poles, as a family of 3, we go through 10 litres of milk a week.

True! :p

Good movie.

We go through a lot of milk when all 5 of us are here. I don't drink any, though. I use it a lot in cooking, and the kids drink it at almost every meal.

As an adult mammal, I don't drink milk. It comes from between the hind legs of another species - YUCK!!! I would not drink anything that came from that area, never. But sugar it up and freeze it and call it ice cream and I'm there. Or let it rot under controlled conditions and shred it on pizza, and I'm first in line. But drinking milk? I'd lose weight throwing up all the time.

You know what's good eatin'? The hind legs of other species.

Why limit yourself to other species?