THURSDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Not enough children and
teens drink low-fat milk, a new report from the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention reveals.
Drinking milk is important for children's bone health, but CDC
experts advise that although young people need the calcium, vitamin
D and other nutrients found in milk, children aged 2 and older
should consume low-fat milk and milk products to avoid unnecessary
fat and calories.
The research, published in a CDC report titled "Low-fat Milk
Consumption Among Children and Adolescents in the United States,
2007-2008," showed that about 73 percent of children and teens
drink milk, but only about 20 percent of them say they usually
drink low-fat milk (skim or 1 percent).
Meanwhile, the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey also revealed that about 45 percent drink
reduced-fat milk (2 percent) and 32 percent reported they drink
whole milk regularly.
Older children and teens drink low-fat milk more often than
younger children. Although 13 percent of kids aged 2 to 5 usually
drink low-fat milk, 21 percent of kids aged 6 to 11 years said they
do, along with 23 percent of teens aged 12 to 19.
Ethnicity and income also seem to play a role in the type of
milk children consume. White children drink low-fat milk more often
than black or Hispanic children. About 28 percent of the white
participants said low-fat milk was their usual milk type, compared
to just 5 percent of blacks and 10 percent of Hispanics. Meanwhile,
children and teens in the highest income category reported drinking
low-fat milk more often than those in the lowest income group.
In summary, the authors of the report wrote: "The overall low
consumption of low-fat milk suggests the majority of children and
adolescents do not adhere to recommendations by
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 and the American
Academy of Pediatrics for all children aged 2 years and over to
drink low-fat milk. Recently, First Lady Michelle Obama's 'Lets
Move!' campaign and 'The Surgeon Generals Vision for a Healthy and
Fit Nation 2010' have recommended promoting water and low-fat milk
and reducing sugar-sweetened beverages as components of
comprehensive obesity prevention strategies."
The report, by Dr. Brian Kit and colleagues at the CDC's
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), is published in a
September
NCHS Data Brief.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Child Health & Human
Development has more about
children's milk consumption.