Dairy products have a key role to play in weight loss, but this needs to be better communicated to consumers, delegates at a dairy industry obesity conference were told this week.
The industry needed to make the public aware dairy was part of the obesity solution and not the problem, said Dr Cindy Schweitzer, technical director of research and promotional body Global Dairy Platform.
She called on the industry to join the obesity debate, citing research showing consumers were eating less than their recommended daily amount of dairy.
"When we are not consuming enough dairy we miss a lot of key nutrients," Schweitzer said, adding that clinical studies demonstrated consuming the right amount of dairy products could help maintain or even lose weight, particularly when combined with exercise and a balanced diet.
One key message from the event was that consumers could easily grasp the 3-a day message, which recommends that people consume three portions of dairy product per day. A glass of milk, a pot of yoghurt and a 30g piece of cheese would each make up one portion.
Data from the Milk Development Council showed the average British person consumed fewer than two servings per day, suggesting significant opportunity for market growth.
The industry was already showing ingenuity in producing low-fat dairy products, Schweitzer added, and this trend was set to continue.
MP and Dairy UK chairman David Curry stressed that bombarding the public with facts about the health content of dairy products was not the way to get the message across.
"We must not parade the science as if it's biblical but instead must show that dairy products can help you to be healthy," he said.
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