Does calcium prompt weight-loss? Don’t count on it

Adventures in Cheese–Part Two

As I mentioned last week, the USDA division called Dairy Management exists for one purpose only: To boost the bottom line of the dairy industry by encouraging every American to consume more dairy products.

But when an organization like that is driven by one very specific mission, they might go overboard now and then.

In 2003, Dairy Management began a PR campaign to spread some good news: According to research, three daily servings of milk, cheese, or yogurt provided all the calcium you’d need to help you lose weight.

The scant evidence behind this claim came from a single researcher. But that didn’t bother Dairy Management officials. They were completely smitten with calcium-induced weight-loss as a dairy marketing tool. So they devoted considerable money and effort in getting the word out, and then mounted follow-up studies with a new researcher.

And that’s when the cheese soufflé began to sag…

The additional research found no evidence of a calcium/weight-loss link. Other research from the National Institutes of Health also failed to confirm the link.

That must have been very annoying for the Dairy Management guys–but not annoying enough to actually stop the calcium/weight-loss advertising campaign–which continued through 2007!

You have to wonder how many people ordered extra-cheese on their stuffed-crust pizza, expecting to see their weight drop.

Eventually, a lawsuit prompted Dairy Management to cease and desist the weight-loss campaign. But that hasn’t stopped DM from doggedly searching for new ways to convince us to gulp milk and wolf down cheese.

Dairy Management recently devoted several million dollars to study chocolate milk as a potential sports recovery drink. Another study will test the use of cheese as a way to tempt children into eating healthy foods.

Asparagus? Yech!

Asparagus buried under a mound of melted cheddar?

Hey–it just might work.

Source:
“While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales” Michael Moss, New York Times, 11/6/10, nytimes.com