The Study
The effect of dairy products on liver fat and metabolic risk markers in males with abdominal obesity - a four-arm randomized controlled trial.
This study gave different kinds of dairy to 100 men with belly fat and saw what happened over 16 weeks. It didn't prove that yogurt is better than milk, but it did show that everyone felt a little better over time — like their blood sugar and cholesterol improved a bit. So we can say dairy might help, but we can't say one kind is better than another.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists gave 100 overweight men either milk, yogurt, or similar dairy products every day for 4 months to see if fermented ones like yogurt were better for their liver and metabolism.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 563 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The changes in insulin and cholesterol are small but meaningful for metabolic health, but the drop in HDL is puzzling and needs more study.
- 2All dairy types lowered insulin and bad cholesterol a little, but none changed liver fat.
- 3Surprisingly, good cholesterol (HDL) went down.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Clinical nutrition
Year
2023
Authors
Karoline Sandby, F. Magkos, E. Chabanova, E. T. Petersen, T. Krarup, Hanne C. Bertram, K. Kristiansen, N. Geiker
Related Content
Claims (6)
In men with excess belly fat, eating 400 grams of any dairy product daily for 16 weeks does not change the amount of fat in the liver, regardless of whether the dairy is fermented or not.
In men with excess belly fat, eating 400 grams of any dairy product daily for 16 weeks is linked to measurable decreases in fasting insulin, insulin resistance, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and liver enzyme levels.
In men with abdominal obesity, consuming yogurt and acidified milk for 16 weeks does not lead to better changes in metabolic markers or less liver fat than consuming regular milk or heat-treated yogurt.
In men with abdominal obesity, drinking or eating dairy every day for 16 weeks leads to a decrease in HDL cholesterol levels.
In men with excess belly fat, eating any kind of dairy for 16 weeks is linked to better insulin sensitivity and lower liver enzyme levels, regardless of whether the dairy is milk, cheese, or yogurt, suggesting the benefit comes from overall diet patterns rather than specific dairy ingredients.
Eating fermented dairy products like yogurt does not lead to a bigger decrease in liver fat than eating non-fermented dairy products like milk or cheese in humans.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.