Diet High in Dairy Products Reduces Risk of Insulin Resistance

Overweight people who consume a diet high in dairy products were 72% less likely than those with a low-dairy diet to develop insulin resistance syndrome (IRS).

Overweight adults who consume dairy products were less likely to be insulin resistant and may lower their risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a report by researchers in the U.S.

"Although diet has been postulated to influence insulin resistance syndrome, the independent effects of dairy consumption on development of this syndrome have not been investigated," said M.A. Pereira, Children's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues.

Characteristics of insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) include commonly known risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes such as obesity, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, and high blood lipid concentrations. Pereira and associates examined the relationships between a diet high in dairy products and the incidence of these risk factors.

Researchers obtained data from the multicenter Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study involving 3157 adults, ages 18-30 years. Study participants were followed for 10 years (1985-1986 to 1995-1996). They were classified as overweight if they had a body mass index (BMI) of at least 25 kg/m2.

An analysis of the data revealed that consumption of dairy products was inversely related to all IRS characteristics in the overweight population but not in the lean group. Results were not affected by sex or race (Dairy consumption, obesity, and the insulin resistance syndrome in you adults: The CARDIA study, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002;287(16):2081-2089).

Overweight individuals who consumed the highest amount of dairy products were 72% less likely to develop IRS (defined as two or more characteristics) than those who consumed the least amount of dairy products. Likelihood of developing IRS dropped 21% with each daily dairy serving.

The amounts of minor or major nutrients could not account for the significance of the relationship between dairy intake and IRS.

Key points reported in this study include:

* Overweight people who consume a diet high in dairy products were 72% less likely than those with a low-dairy diet to develop insulin resistance syndrome (IRS).

* Among overweight people, each daily serving of a dairy product reduced the risk of IRS by 21%.

* The amount of dairy products consumed by lean individuals was not related to the risk of IRS.

FACT 

On average, each 10 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure was associated with a 12% decrease in the risk of any diabetes-related endpoint and also fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction and a 17% reduction in the risk of death related to diabetes; even patients with only moderately elevated blood pressure showed increased risk. ¹   BMJ. 2000;321:412-419.