A study has found that children who drink more than three glasses of milk a day are more likely to gain weight than their peers who drink less.
The study of 12,829 children ages 9 to 14 was published in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Harvard University’s school of public health conducted the longitudinal study from 1996 to 1999 with children in all 50 states.
The research is attracting attention in part because it runs counter to an advertising campaign from the National Dairy Council that promotes what are said to be the weight-loss benefits of milk.
The dairy council has stood by its advertisements, and said that its message is for adults who drink milk and also reduce calories through exercise and diet.
Federal guidelines recommend that 2- to 8-year-olds drink two glasses of milk per day, and that children age 9 or older consume three glasses a day.