Eating more dairy while dieting didn’t make bad cholesterol go up or good cholesterol go down—it didn’t hurt heart health markers at all.

Scientific Claim

In overweight and obese adults on a 12-week energy-restricted diet, increasing dairy intake from ≤1 to 3–4 servings per day does not adversely affect serum cholesterol, LDL, HDL, or triglyceride levels, indicating that higher dairy consumption is metabolically safe during weight loss.

Original Statement

“Fasting serum lipids showed no change for those consuming the AD diet; total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL cholesterol were not higher in the AD group compared to the LD group following intervention.”

From study:Dairy Foods in a Moderate Energy Restricted Diet Do Not Enhance Central Fat, Weight, and Intra-Abdominal Adipose Tissue Losses nor Reduce Adipocyte Size or Inflammatory Markers in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Controlled Feeding Study

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

definitive

Can make definitive causal claims

Assessment Explanation

The RCT design with direct lipid measurements supports definitive language. The claim accurately reflects the absence of adverse effects.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Dairy Foods in a Moderate Energy Restricted Diet Do Not Enhance Central Fat, Weight, and Intra-Abdominal Adipose Tissue Losses nor Reduce Adipocyte Size or Inflammatory Markers in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Controlled Feeding Study

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2011

The study gave some people a little dairy and others more dairy while they were on a diet to lose weight, and found that their cholesterol and fat levels in the blood didn’t get worse with more dairy—so eating more dairy while dieting is safe for your blood fats.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Dairy Foods in a Moderate Energy Restricted Diet Do Not Enhance Central Fat, Weight, and Intra-Abdominal Adipose Tissue Losses nor Reduce Adipocyte Size or Inflammatory Markers in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Controlled Feeding Study

Score: 48

DOI: 10.1155/2011/989657

Similar Assertions

When overweight or obese people eat fewer calories and either eat a little dairy or a lot of dairy, they lose about the same amount of weight and belly fat—dairy doesn’t help them lose more.

91%

Eating more dairy doesn’t make your body burn more calories at rest—your metabolism stayed the same whether you ate a lot or a little dairy while dieting.

88%

People who ate more dairy didn’t move more or less than those who ate less dairy—both groups were equally active, so activity levels didn’t affect the results.

82%

Eating more dairy while dieting doesn’t reduce inflammation in fat tissue—both groups had the same levels of immune cells and inflammatory signals in their fat.

81%

Whether people eat a lot or a little dairy while dieting, their blood levels of inflammation markers and hormones like insulin and leptin change the same way—dairy doesn’t make a difference.

77%