Kids need more milk, experts say

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
Oct 9th 2007 9:00AM

Categories: Healthy Kids, Nutrition & Supplements

Milk does a kid's body good, according to a Penn State study concerning American children and their consumption of the dairy drink. Yet the only youngsters reportedly drinking enough milk are 2 and 3 year olds. All others are falling short on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's My Pyramid dairy recommendations which suggest two cups of milk for 1 to 3 year olds, two to three cups for 4 to 8 year olds, and three to four cups for 9 to 18 year olds.

Also noteworthy per the same study, published in the online Journal of Pediatrics, is that children are consuming more of the highest fat varieties of cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and dairy-based toppings. It's not smart to make up for missed calcium from milk by stocking up on high-fat dairy sources, says one researcher who notes these additional calories will only add to the current problem of childhood obesity. So stick to good old fashioned milk for your kids -- and make it low-fat while you're at it.

Although physicians once recommended that children receive whole milk during the first year of life, that recommendation has changed. Doctors now recommend baby formula if the child is not nursing. And for the second year of life, reduced-fat or fat-free milk is appropriate.

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Comments (4)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

******* 10-09-2007 @ 10:20AM

maybe if it wasnt so expensive to drink-we would make the requirements

Meg Wolff 10-09-2007 @ 6:29PM

If you really are interested in the facts on milk, not just on breast cancer, but it's implications on diabetes and MS, read the National Bestseller, The China Study, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Dr. Campbell is a Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University who has published his research in peer reviewed journals over the course of three decades and is at the top in his field. He promotes a plant-based diet because of what his 40 years of government funded research shows.

http://www.thechinastudy.com/about.html

Women and children are the people who most of the milk adds are marketed to.

Justin Flagler 12-12-2007 @ 7:46AM

Kids may need more milk and milk may be a decent source of calcium but that doesn't mean that milk is the best source of calcium. Meg Wolff's recommendation to read T. Colin Campbell is not bad, but that guy is anti-milk, so his own conclusions are as biased against milk as the Penn State calcium study is biased for milk.

Check out www.milkprocon.org to see the pros and cons of whether drinking milk is healthy. There's one question I found about whether milk is the best of source of calcium. http://www.milkprocon.org/questions/calcium.htm

Also, they referenced a USDA report that shows a taco has more calcium than a serving of low fat milk (http://www.milkprocon.org/questions/absolutecalcium.htm)

Meg Wolff 10-10-2007 @ 2:12PM

I would not say that Dr. Campbell is anti-milk as this connotes a bias, as someone that works for the meat or dairy industries might be. He is a scientist who has been doing research...and in the beginning of his career was hoping to find evidence supporting a diet based around meat and dairy as they were once thought to be the best for health. His MANY years of government funded research showed exactly the opposite.

In the, China Study, Dr. Campbell says,

"So, what is my prescription for good health? In short, it is about the multiple health benefits of consuming plant-based foods, and the largely unappreciated health dangers of consuming animal-based foods, including all types of meat, dairy and eggs. I did not begin with preconceived ideas, philosophical or otherwise, to prove the worthiness of plant-based diets. I started at the opposite end of the spectrum: as a meat-loving dairy farmer in my personal life and an 'establishment' scientist in my professional life. I even used to lament the views of vegetarians as I taught nutritional biochemistry to pre-med students.

My only interest now is to explain the scientific basis for my views in the clearest way possible. Changing dietary practices will only occur and be maintained when people believe the evidence and experience the benefits. People decide what to eat for a number of reasons health considerations being only one. My task is only to present the scientific evidence in a form that can be understood. The rest is up to you.

The scientific basis for my views is largely empirical, obtained through observation and measurement. It is not illusory, hypothetical or anecdotal; it is from legitimate research findings."

To read more about Dr. Campbell and his work:
http://www.thechinastudy.com/authors.html