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The relationship between yogurt consumption, body weight, and metabolic profiles in youth with a familial predisposition to obesity

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 541–548 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/objectives

This study examined the relationship between yogurt consumption, family history of obesity (FHO), and health determinants.

Subjects/methods

Youth (n = 198; mean age: 20 ± 0.5 years) from the Québec Family Study were first classified based on their FHO, defined as the presence or absence of at least one obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) parent [with FHO (FHO+; n = 112) or without FHO (FHO−; n = 86)] and then on their yogurt consumption [yogurt consumers (YC+) n = 61 or non-consumers (YC−) n = 137]. A two-factor mixed ANOVA was performed to evaluate the association between FHO, YC, and their interaction with health determinant such as weight and body composition, metabolic and behavioral profiles.

Results

There was a main effect of FHO, but not YC, for weight and body composition, but no interaction between YC and FHO for these measures. However, a significant interaction between YC and FHO was observed for fasting insulin (P = 0.02), insulin area under the curve (AUC) (P = 0.02), and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR; P = 0.03) after adjustment for studied covariates. Specifically, lower fasting plasma insulin, insulin AUC, and HOMA-IR were observed in FHO+ and YC+ youth compared to YC− youth of the same group while no differences were found between the FHO− sub-groups.

Conclusions

Consuming yogurt may protect against insulin resistance more specifically among youth at risk of obesity, and this relationship appears to be independent of body composition and lifestyle factors measured in this study.

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Acknowledgements

We thank participants in the QFS and staff of the Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory at Université Laval for their contribution to this study. SP is the recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship from Mitacs Accelerate in partnership with Alliance Santé Québec.

Funding

Financial support from the Medical Research Council of Canada (presently Canadian Institutes of Health Research) for the QFS and other agencies from the governments of Québec and Canada. The current study was funded by the 2015 YINI grant.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada

    Shirin Panahi, Angelo Tremblay, Louis Pérusse & Jean-Pierre Després

  2. Department of Physical Education, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada

    Shirin Panahi & Vicky Drapeau

  3. Department of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada

    Annette Gallant

  4. Centre de Recherche de l’Institut de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec City, QC, Canada

    Angelo Tremblay, Jean-Pierre Després & Vicky Drapeau

  5. Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada

    Angelo Tremblay & Vicky Drapeau

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  1. Shirin Panahi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vicky Drapeau.

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Conflict of interest

VD, SP, and AG are the recipients of the 2015 Yogurt in Nutrition Initiative (YINI) grant. This initiative is an international collaborative project between the Danone Institute International, the American Society for Nutrition, and International Osteoporosis Foundation. VD has received grants from Danone and Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC). AT holds a Canada Research Chair in Environment and Energy Balance sponsored and serves on the Yogurt in Nutrition for Health Advisory Board for the Danone Institute International. His research has been partially funded by the DFC and Dairy Research Institute of the United States. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Panahi, S., Gallant, A., Tremblay, A. et al. The relationship between yogurt consumption, body weight, and metabolic profiles in youth with a familial predisposition to obesity. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 541–548 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0166-2

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