TOPLINE:

Among adults, a higher consumption of fermented dairy products (excluding cheese) was associated with lower odds of metabolic syndrome in men. However, in women, the consumption of cheese was linked to a favourable lipid profile and lower odds of metabolic syndrome, whereas a high consumption of milk was linked to higher odds of metabolic syndrome.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the National FinHealth 2017 Study to assess associations between the consumption of fermented dairy products and metabolic syndrome among adults.
• They analysed data of 5096 adults including 2250 men and 2846 women (mean age, 56 years for both) who had administered a food frequency questionnaire.
• The consumption of dairy products was categorised into quintiles for fermented dairy products excluding cheese, cheese, non-fermented dairy products (milk), and total dairy.
• Participants were considered to have metabolic syndrome if they had at least three of the following components: waist circumference ≥ 94 cm (men) or ≥ 80 cm (women), triglyceride levels ≥ 1.7 mmol/L, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels < 1.03 mmol/L (men) or < 1.3 mmol/L (women), fasting glucose levels ≥ 5.6 mmol/L or medication, and blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mm Hg or medication.

TAKEAWAY:

• In men, the consumption of fermented dairy products (excluding cheese) in the highest vs lowest quintile was associated with lower odds of metabolic syndrome (odds ratio [OR], 0.72; 95% CI, 0.53-0.98; P for trend = .018).
• In women, the consumption of cheese in the highest quintile was associated with lower odds of metabolic syndrome (P for trend = .046), higher HDL cholesterol levels (P for trend ≤ .001), and lower triglyceride levels (P for trend = .020) than that in the lowest quintile.
• In women, the consumption of milk in the highest quintile was associated with 44% higher odds of metabolic syndrome than that in the lowest quintile (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.08-1.93). Each 200 g increase in consumption was linked to 10% higher odds of metabolic syndrome (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.03-1.17).

IN PRACTICE:

"[The study] findings suggest that associations between dairy consumption and metabolic health may differ by both sex and dairy subgroup," the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Miika Wynne-Ellis, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. It was published online on March 02, 2026, in The Journal of Nutrition.

LIMITATIONS:

This study was limited by its cross-sectional design, the reliance on the food frequency questionnaire for dietary intake, and the inability to distinguish saturated fatty acids derived from dairy vs other dietary sources.

DISCLOSURES:

This study received partial funding from Valio Ltd. One author reported being an employee of the funder, and another author reported receiving funding from the same.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.