What we find is that women who consume more calcium and more dairy are nearly 80 percent less likely to be obese than women who consume very little calcium and very little dairy. It's a huge, huge difference. Zemel says that when people try to lose weight, they tend to cut out dairy products. And that's a mistake, especially for women and teenage girls. We adults need to be good role models for our children by exercising more and eating sensibly.
Weight is basically a function of calories in and calories out.
Consuming low-fat dairy products, as part of a normal caloric intake, has definite health benefits. But Zemel points out that the problem of obesity is not caused only by a lack of exercise and a poor diet. Part of Zemel's research involves working with transgenic mice, or mice that have been given a human pattern of obesity. Some of the mice are thin and some are rather plump, although they are all fed the same food. His findings point to the importance of genetics.