Understanding and Innovation in Dairy for the Management of Body Weight and Metabolic Disease

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Approximately 60% of adults and 30% of children in Canada are overweight or obese and 15% suffer from the metabolic syndrome, which includes high blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. The prevalence of obesity and overweight in our population has doubled over the past 25 years, while per capita milk consumption has decreased by 20%. A majority of Canadians do not consume the recommended two to three servings per day, as recommended by Canada's Food Guide. In recent years many population studies have associated higher dairy consumption with healthier body weights and reduced risk of developing high blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. The overall goal of our research is to explain the latter association. We aim to describe the effects of traditional and innovative milk and dairy products, consumed alone or with meals, on food intake, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol and their regulation in healthy body weight, overweight and obese adults and children. Several experiments toward that goal are described in this proposal. We anticipate that the results will lead to a new understanding of the health benefits and the mechanisms of action of milk in providing these benefits. By providing scientifically sound evidence for communicating health benefits of milk beyond its traditional role of providing nutrients, it is expected that consumption will increase. In addition, by understanding the effect of milk and its components on physiologic systems regulating food intake and metabolism, we can encourage the development of new products that enhance the benefits. The results have potential benefits to not only the consumer and the reduction of health care cost, but also to the complete value chain from producer to consumer