There was an interesting article in the newspaper last week titled "Milk recommendations miss the mark on obesity". The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has recently recommended that all children in day care centres over the age of 2 should only be given low fat milk, rather than full fat milk. Fortunately there have been a lot of objections from parents and medical groups. Regular milk is approximately 4 percent fat, whereas low fat milk has 2 percent fat. The NHMRC wants to reduce childhood obesity and really thinks that a 2 percent reduction in fat content of milk is the best way forward. Dr Kieron Rooney, a nutritionist from the Sydney University School of Health Sciences has voiced his opposition, stating there is no evidence that regular, full fat milk is contributing to childhood obesity, or even that low fat milk is a healthier option. According to Dr Rooney, "What ends up happening is you take whole milk, which is a good food and nutritious, and encourage children to drink the low-fat version and then parents say the kids won't drink low-fat milk that is plain, so they end up drinking flavoured low-fat milk’. Very true! Most children don’t like the taste of low fat milk, yet parents think the child will be missing out on vital nutrients if they don’t drink it, therefore put chocolate or strawberry flavoured powder into the milk. The sugar and chemicals in most flavoured milk drinks definitely do contribute to obesity. Low fat milk is not as satiating as regular milk; therefore children generally want to eat more afterwards. Not to mention, the sugar in flavoured milk acts as an appetite stimulant and promotes cravings for more sugar and carbohydrate. Milk really isn’t high in nutrients compared to other foods such as eggs, poultry, seafood, red meat and vegetables. Milk allergy is quite common in children and can predispose a child to frequent infections, particularly ear infections. Lactose intolerance is a common cause of upset tummies in children. Drinking low fat milk is probably not an effective strategy for losing weight. Basing a child’s diet on natural, unprocessed foods would likely be much more effective. Reference