A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior explored the impact of milk fat consumption on young children’s health, specifically among toddlers enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The research used data from more than 2,373 toddlers collected between 2013 and 2020 as part of the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2.
The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that children switch from whole milk to fat-free or low-fat milk by age two to help reduce saturated fat intake and lower obesity risk. However, evidence supporting these recommendations has been inconsistent.
The new study found that toddlers who followed recommendations to consume fat-free or low-fat milk between ages two and three had lower intakes of saturated fat and energy. Despite these dietary changes, researchers did not observe a link between adherence to the guidelines and changes in toddler weight or added sugars intake.
The authors concluded that further investigation is necessary to determine if following current milk fat guidelines for toddlers leads directly to better health outcomes. “Researchers recommend additional research is needed to determine whether current milk fat recommendations for toddlers is causally linked to improved health outcomes.”
This study was conducted by Rachel C. Grau from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health; Hannah R. Thompson and Lorrene D. Ritchie from the Nutrition Policy Institute at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Anisha Patel from Stanford University’s Division of General Pediatrics.