Yogurt intake may be associated with a lower risk of obesity during the menopausal transition

1. In this prospective cohort study, higher yogurt intake was associated with lower weight gain and obesity risk in women during the menopausal transition.

2. Additionally, women with higher yogurt intake also had higher activity levels and overall healthy eating index scores that were independently associated with a lower risk of obesity.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Due to hormonal changes, the time surrounding menopause can often be associated with weight gain. Although, diet also plays a large contributory role in the association between menopause and weight gain. Although the effects of dairy foods on weight gain remain controversial, some large cohort studies observed that increased yogurt intake was associated with lower weight gain. However, the effect of dairy intake on weight gain in the perimenopausal period is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of dairy products on weight change and risk of obesity during the menopausal transition.

This large cohort study was part of the Nurses’ Health Study II, which included 116,429 registered nurses aged 25-42 years at the time of the study’s launch in 1989. Participants were followed using questionnaires every 2 years. Participants were excluded from this study if they died before menopause, had a nonnatural menopause, had menopause before the age of 45 years, had cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease, or if their age at menopause was missing. Self-reported weight data was collected for the 12 years surrounding menopause, from 3 exams before and 3 exams after menopause occurred. The amount of dairy intake was estimated as the mean intake over the same 12 years as recorded in a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) administered every 4 years. The primary outcome was weight change in the 12 years surrounding menopause.

The results demonstrated that women with the highest yogurt intake (≥2 servings/week) had the lowest adjusted weight gain and a 31% lower risk of obesity during the menopausal transition. However, this same association was not seen for other dairy products. Higher yogurt intake was also associated with an overall healthier lifestyle, such as increased exercise, but was still independently associated with lower obesity risk. This study was limited by the potential for reporting bias, given that dairy intake and weight measurements were both self-reported. Nonetheless, these results indicated that yogurt may be beneficial in reducing weight gain and obesity risk in the perimenopausal period.

Click to read the study in The Journal of Nutrition

Image: PD

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