Consumption of Dairy Products and Abdominal Obesity in Adults: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Epidemiologic Studies With Grade Assessment Publisher Pubmed

Summary: Does dairy intake relate to waist size? A meta-analysis of observational studies linked higher dairy consumption to 16% lower odds of abdominal obesity, not proof of cause. #Nutrition #Obesity

Rouhani P ; Mokhtari E ; Soltani S ; Saneei P
Source: Nutrition Reviews Published:2026

Abstract

Context: Abdominal obesity is a risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases, and dietary factors such as dairy products may play a role. However, findings on the association between dairy product consumption and abdominal obesity remain inconsistent. Objective: The association between types of dairy product consumption and abdominal obesity in adults was evaluated. Data Sources: A systematic search was conducted for observational studies from inception until February 2025 using electronic databases including Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, MEDLINE (PubMed), and Google Scholar. Data Extraction: This review comprised 28 observational studies (n = 6 cohort and 22 cross-sectional) that assessed the relationship between total dairy and/or milk, yogurt, or cheese consumption as exposures and abdominal obesity in adults as the outcome. Data Analysis: Combining 19 effect sizes from 18 observational investigations with 195 852 participants revealed that the highest (vs lowest) amount of total dairy consumption was significantly related to a 16% reduced odds of abdominal obesity in adults (odds ratio [OR] = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.76-0.93). Dose-response analysis showed that each 160 g d–1 increment in total dairy consumption was linearly related to a significant 8% reduced odds of abdominal obesity (OR = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.98). A U-shaped significant association in nonlinear dose-response analysis was found between total dairy consumption and abdominal obesity. Pooling effect sizes from 9 eligible studies with 47 778 participants showed that higher amounts of yogurt consumption was related to a 21% reduction in abdominal obesity (OR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.70-0.89). Stratified analysis based on dairy fat showed significant inverse relations between whole-fat dairy (OR = 0.73; 95% CI, 0.54-0.97) and yogurt (OR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.69-0.91) and central obesity. Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis suggest dairy consumption, even whole-fat products, was associated with lower odds of abdominal obesity in adults. Systematic Review Registration: Prospero registration no. CRD42023468557 © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights)