Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: There is some evidence shows daily consumption of milk/dairy products prevents obesity and many diseases. Even in adulthood, the consumption of adequate milk/dairy products in childhood is protective of obesity. Therefore, balanced consumption of milk/dairy products is thought to prevent obesity or overweight, which is an important health problem nowadays. In our study, we aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between the consumption of milk/dairy products and body mass index(BMI) among students studying at Private School and Public School. Material and Method: Our study was carried out by selecting 300 students, 126 Private School, 176 Public School 7–10 years of age. In the survey, cheese, yogurt, ayran, butter, and milk consumption was grouped separately and demographic and daily food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was taken from the parents of students. Anthropometric measurements are the most important measures reflect nutritional status. In our study, we used the persantil curves of Turkish children (Neyzi et al.) which calculated by genetic variations.

Results: The frequency of those who consume milk and dairy products every day was higher among public school students. While those who consume milk every day (57.3 percent) and the majority of those who consume at least 5–6 times a week (57.1 percent) are children studying in public school, the majority of those who never consume (54.5 percent), and the majority of those who consume 1–2 times a week (57.1 percent) are children studying at the Private School. while 54.5 percent of those who consume no dairy are obese according to BMI standards of Turkey, 70.9 percent of those who consume dairy every day with normal BMI value. When we look at consumption, there is a significant difference between BMI values and dairy consumption. While 63.2 percent of those who consumed dairy products daily have normal BMI values, 55 percent of those who consumed it once a month or not at all are weak and stunted.

Conclusion: In literature, it has been shown that milk and/or dairy products added to the diet have positive effects on children’s development and BMI. In our study, it supports these findings and the inclusion of milk and dairy products in the daily diet of children should be encouraged. Also, the fact that more milk consumption was detected among the students studying in the Public School was associated with regular daily milk distribution in these schools.