According to a study by the University of Navarra, published in the scientific journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease, a high consumption of yogurt (at least 7 units per week) is associated in the long term deadline with a lower risk of developing overweight or obesity.

The research of the project Follow-up University of Navarra (SUN) evaluated the yogurt consumption habits of a sample of 8,516 individuals over 6.6 years. None of them were overweight at the beginning, but 1,860 developed overweight or had become obese by the end.

The study"Yogurt consumption, weight change and risk of overweight/obesity: The SUN cohort study", led by Professor Miguel Á. Martínez-González, Full Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health of the University of Navarra and member of the CIBER on obesity and nutrition, classified participants according to their total yogurt consumption (whole and skim) in five categories: less than two; between two and five; between five and seven; seven; and more than seven yogurts per week.

It was observed that, other obesity-related variables being equal, participants in the highest yogurt consumption category (7 or more units per week) had a lower risk of developing overweight or obesity during the follow-up period. In addition, the study notes that this reduced risk of overweight/obesity associated with yogurt consumption is especially evident among participants who also maintain high fruit consumption rather than choosing sweet or baked desserts. These results support that yogurt consumption may play a role in the prevention of overweight and obesity when associated with an overall healthy eating patron saint . 

Related to calcium content

The study concludes that a possible biological mechanism that may explain the relationship of yogurt consumption with reduced risk of weight gain could be related to its calcium content, as suggested by some programs of study. In these programs of study it has been proposed that calcium is related to fat metabolism, so that an increase in the intake of calcium contained in dairy products may lead to an increase in fat oxidation.