People who ate more dairy had slightly different metabolism after meals even before the diet started, so any difference seen later wasn’t caused by the dairy they ate during the diet.
Scientific Claim
In overweight and obese adults on a 12-week energy-restricted diet, postprandial respiratory exchange ratio (RER) is higher in those consuming 3–4 servings of dairy per day compared to ≤1 serving, but this difference existed before the intervention and is not attributable to dairy intake.
Original Statement
“However, the average postprandial (PP) RER measured during the 10-h postprandial protocol was significantly higher in the AD group at run-in and after intervention (P < 0.03)... suggesting that there were inherent differences in substrate utilization between the groups.”
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 study design included baseline measurements, allowing the authors to correctly attribute the RER difference to pre-existing variation. The claim accurately reflects this causal interpretation.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (0)
Contradicting (1)
The study didn’t measure anything about how the body uses energy after eating (RER), so we can’t say whether dairy changed it or not — the claim can’t be checked with this research.