Dairy intake and blood pressure in overweight black and white children

What is it about?

Studies have demonstrated a relationship between dairy intake and blood pressure in adults, yet little is known of this relationship in children. We found a significant inverse relationship between the intake of dairy and systolic blood pressure that differed by race: in white children, for every serving of dairy consumed, a decrease of 11.2 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure was observed, but no such decrease in blood pressure was observed in black children. This suggests that greater dairy intake alone is not beneficial for all races regarding systolic blood pressure.

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Why is it important?

Nutrition professionals should assess the quality of the overall dietary pattern, as opposed to single nutrients, when providing recommendations to lower blood pressure in the overweight and obese childhood and adolescent population. Non-nutrition factors contributing to high blood pressure in children need to be considered, as current dietary recommendations (e.g. consuming dairy to lower blood pressure) appear to have differential outcomes across races in this group.