Dairy-rich diet as a teenager could reduce risk of diabetes

A new study by scientists in the United States has revealed that teenagers who eat a lot of dairy foods could be lowering their risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
The research, carried out at the Harvard School of Public Health, assessed the possible link between eating plenty of dairy food during adolescence and the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes for over 37,000 adult women. It was shown that those who had a high intake of dairy foods in their mid-teen years were 38 per cent less likely to get type 2 diabetes in middle age than the women who consumed less dairy foods.
It was also found that those women who kept up their high consumption of dairy foods as adults experienced even more positive health benefits. The findings showed that women who did not increase their weight by very much in adulthood were those who had eaten the most dairy foods in adolescence.
The study found that those who consumed the highest quantity of dairy foods as a teenager and also during their middle age had 43 per cent less risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those women who maintained a low dairy intake.
The results follow recent studies that showed that consuming the recommended three portions of dairy food each day can benefit metabolic health and also lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.