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

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/m) 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.