Effect of dairy form on cognitive performance, glycemic response, and subjective emotions in children aged 9-14 years

Dairy consumption may influence cognitive performance through its macronutrient composition and subsequent release of bioactive components during digestion. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of dairy form on cognitive performance, glycemic response, and subjective emotions in children. A repeated measures randomized controlled trial was conducted with 54 children (31 girls and 23 boys; age: 12.0 ± 0.2 years) who completed five experimental visits. Upon arrival at the laboratory, consumption of a standardized breakfast, and collection of baseline measures, children consumed an isocaloric (180 kcal) snack of milk, yogurt, cheese, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) or snack skipping. Cognitive performance, glycemic response, and subjective emotions were measured over 120 min. Corsi Block Tapping Test (CBTT) (forward) (p = 0.007) was higher after milk compared to yogurt, cheese, SSB and snack skipping. CBTT (backward) (p = 0.001) was higher after milk and yogurt compared to snack skipping. Immediate word recall (p = 0.003) was higher after SSB compared to yogurt but did not differ from other treatments. Blood glucose (p < 0.001) (mmol/L) was lower after milk, cheese, yogurt, and snack skipping compared to SSB. Subjective average emotions (p < 0.001) were higher after milk, yogurt, cheese and SSB compared to snack skipping. Both milk and yogurt affected short-term cognitive performance in children, and the mechanism was explained, in part, by changes in glycemic response. Future studies are needed to explore the long-term effect of dairy form on cognitive performance and the role of the gut-brain axis and varying nutrient compositions. Clinicaltrials.gov, #NCT05767983 (registered on 23 November 2022).