Study Finds Yogurt Does Not Improve Health-Related Quality of Life
Daily eating of yogurt has been considered beneficial all over the world, with various studies claiming its benefits, despite never been scientifically proven. Now a new study from Spain claims that yogurt is not all that it's cracked up to be.
The study was conducted on more than 4,000 people and followed for an average of 3.5 years. Esther López-García (Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain) and colleagues found no association between regular yogurt consumption and improved physical and mental parameters.
Many previous studies have hinted that consuming yogurt may directly or indirectly influence health-related quality of life. One of the major reasons that this dairy (yogurt, specifically) is seen as essential to health is because it contains high levels of calcium.
López-García and team have analyzed the relationship between yogurt consumption and self-reported physical and mental improvements in health-related quality of life, using the SF-12 survey. The study included 4,445 adult participants who were recruited between 2008 and 2010 and then followed using the survey until 2012.
In Spain and other countries, dietary guidelines support the consumption of dairy products as part of a healthy diet. However, "the majority of studies have focused on the effect as a whole, but it would be interesting to evaluate the independent association between each type of product and global health indicators," points out López-García.
"For future research more specific instruments must be used which may increase the probability of finding a potential benefit of this food," she adds.
Furthermore, López-García said that the study also ruled out the possibility that poor health choices might hide yogurt's benefits since there wasn't any correlation between the food and better health for those who ate a Mediterranean diet and didn't smoke.
The study concluded that yogurt consumption did not show an association with improved HRQL, or Health-related quality of life.
