Fat-free yogurt has been the subject of various weight management studies. Even if the results of these studies are somewhat inconclusive, there are still links that connect yogurt to fat loss. Yogurt may play a role in hastening the body’s ability to burn fats. This may further lead to weight loss and trimmed mid section.
Calcium Content of Yogurt May Lower Body Fat
One of the minerals that can be found in abundance in yogurt is calcium. Low levels of body fat were observed in people with high calcium levels. This is according to a study conducted and published in the Journal of American Dietetic Association entitled “Calcium Intake is Inversely Related to Body Fat Mass in African-American Women with Various Body Mass Indices.”
Yet another study is the one performed by Obesity Research. In this study, obese subjects were placed in a diet with the same number of calories, with only the amount of calcium as the variable. The results were promising such that subjects, with the highest amount of calcium intake, are the ones who lost the most fats. On the other hand, subjects, with the low calcium diet, have the lowest percentage of fat loss.
Also, in the same study, a significant shift in the distribution of body fats was also observed. The group on a high-calcium diet, lost more fat in their mid section, compared to the other group who had little to no dairy or calcium in the diet.
Calcium in Yogurt Increases Fat Oxidation Rate
Fat oxidation rate refers to how fast the body is capable of burning fat. In one of the published studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, subjects on a high calcium diet burns fat at a faster rate than subjects on a lower calcium diet. Low levels of parathyroid hormones and high concentration of calcium were observed in subjects with high fat oxidation rate. Parathyroid hormones are the hormones that tell the bone to release calcium in the bloodstream whenever calcium level is at a low.
For more details on the studies relating calcium to fat loss and fat oxidation rate, refer to the sources below. They contain the type of subject, methods used for the study and the conclusion.
Sources:
Obesity Research. Calcium and Dairy Acceleration of Weight and Fat Loss during Energy Restriction in Obese Adults (2003, September)
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Fat oxidation and its relation to serum parathyroid hormone in young women enrolled in a 1-y dairy calcium intervention (2005, December)
Kimberly Danek - Kimberly Danek has a degree in Business Administration. She has previously worked for J.P. Morgan as a Fraud Recovery Analyst. As of the ...
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