Comparing the Effects of Cow ́S Milk, and Calcium Supplementation on Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Overweight or Obese Women

It is suggested that high calcium diets can improve lipid profiles، blood pressure and insulin resistance. This study investigated the effects of low fat dairy or calcium supplement consumption on the components of metabolic syndrome. In this clinical trial، 75 healthy overweight or obese premenopausal women were randomly allocated to one of the following dietary regimen for 8 weeks: 1) a control diet; 2) a calcium- supplemented diet containing 800mg/d calcium carbonate and 3) a high milk diet containing three servings of low fat milk. All regimens provided a 500kcal/day deficit. At baseline and after 8 weeks، waist circumference (WC) blood pressure، serum triglycerides (TG)، fasting blood glucose (FBS) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured. After 8 weeks WC، FBS and HDL decreased in all groups (p0. 001)، but there were no significant reduction in TG and blood pressure. Reduction of WC in the milk group was significantly higher than the controls (p=0. 028). Also reduction of HDL in Ca and milk groups was less than the controls (p=0. 023 and p=0. 019 respectively). In conclusion we found that calcium or milk consumption affected WC and HDL، but not the other components of metabolic syndrome. Increasing Ca intake hence can reduce some metabolic syndrome complications.