Kenyan
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 7, 2012
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[h=1]Do people who eat yoghurt have smaller waists?[/h]A review of previous studies suggests that people who eat yoghurt have lower body weight, less body fat and smaller waists - but it's not clear if the yogurt is the reason.
"Studies that look specifically at weight loss are very limited," said coauthor Irene Lenoir-Wijnkoop of Utrecht University in The Netherlands.
"Scientifically speaking, based on this it cannot be concluded that yogurt causes weight loss, even if the tendency in this analysis is promising," she told Reuters Health by email.
The researchers reviewed 22 studies. Thirteen of the studies observed people at one point in time and compared their yogurt intakes, finding that those who ate more yogurt had lower body weight or healthier body composition.
More rigorous studies, in which subjects were randomly assigned to eat yogurt or not and their weights were monitored, had mixed results.
One found significant weight loss in the yoghurt group but did not rule out the possibility that differences in calcium intake were responsible, as reported online November 3 in the International Journal of Obesity.
"Yoghurt has several micronutrients which may have potential beneficial effects, for instance calcium is involved in the metabolism of fat," said Dr Nita Forouhi of the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in the U.K.
"As yoghurt is a fermented product, there are likely effects on obesity also through its effect on the gut microbiome, which is a field that is gathering more research attention now."
"There is a lack of well conducted randomised controlled trials that test different types and amounts of yoghurt versus no or low yoghurt consumption and that are of sufficient duration and quality," said Dr Forouhi, who was not part of the new study.
In principle, a well-conducted randomised controlled trial would determine whether eating yoghurt leads to weight loss, Lenoir-Wijnkoop said.
"However, to maximize the likelihood of detecting a causal effect, it would be critical to have an adequate number of participants, a follow up over a sufficiently long timespan (ideally 12 months) and a proper design to address effects of yoghurt alone," she said.
Daily nation
"Studies that look specifically at weight loss are very limited," said coauthor Irene Lenoir-Wijnkoop of Utrecht University in The Netherlands.
"Scientifically speaking, based on this it cannot be concluded that yogurt causes weight loss, even if the tendency in this analysis is promising," she told Reuters Health by email.
The researchers reviewed 22 studies. Thirteen of the studies observed people at one point in time and compared their yogurt intakes, finding that those who ate more yogurt had lower body weight or healthier body composition.
More rigorous studies, in which subjects were randomly assigned to eat yogurt or not and their weights were monitored, had mixed results.
One found significant weight loss in the yoghurt group but did not rule out the possibility that differences in calcium intake were responsible, as reported online November 3 in the International Journal of Obesity.
"Yoghurt has several micronutrients which may have potential beneficial effects, for instance calcium is involved in the metabolism of fat," said Dr Nita Forouhi of the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in the U.K.
"As yoghurt is a fermented product, there are likely effects on obesity also through its effect on the gut microbiome, which is a field that is gathering more research attention now."
"There is a lack of well conducted randomised controlled trials that test different types and amounts of yoghurt versus no or low yoghurt consumption and that are of sufficient duration and quality," said Dr Forouhi, who was not part of the new study.
In principle, a well-conducted randomised controlled trial would determine whether eating yoghurt leads to weight loss, Lenoir-Wijnkoop said.
"However, to maximize the likelihood of detecting a causal effect, it would be critical to have an adequate number of participants, a follow up over a sufficiently long timespan (ideally 12 months) and a proper design to address effects of yoghurt alone," she said.
Daily nation
