US Adolescent Dairy Consumption and Mental and Physical Health Outcomes in Diverse Populations: A Systematic Review

Adolescent dairy intake supports physical and mental development accompanying this transitional life stage; however, research exploring the role of dairy on adolescent health outcomes provides inconsistent findings across studies.

A comprehensive systematic review was performed (April 2024) to identify literature published within the past 25 years that investigated the association between dairy products and health outcomes among adolescents in the United States.

Using the PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases, eligible articles for inclusion had a primary exposure of bovine dairy or dairy-based products and 1 or more health outcomes critically important to adolescent development, defined a priori.

Eligible articles (n = 97) examined the association of dairy with body composition (n = 41), bone (n = 31), metabolism (n = 26), skin (n = 4), mental/cognitive health (n = 5), and athletic performance, muscle strength, and recovery (n = 3). Most of the studies were observational (n = 80), included male and female participants (n = 55), and diverse populations (n = 30).

Among adolescents in the United States (ages 9-18 years) who consumed dairy products including fluid milk, yogurt, and cheese, among others, the associations with body composition, metabolic outcomes, athletic performance, muscle strength, and recovery, and mental or cognitive health were inconclusive, with multiple studies reporting positive, negative, and nonsignificant findings. Overall, there were positive associations reported between dairy intake and bone health, and negative associations with skin health.

The findings presented in this review are the impetus for future research to expand on existing evidence to examine dairy and health outcomes in diverse adolescent populations. Emerging biomarkers associated with health-related components of dairy posit the opportunity to explore understudied health outcomes in adolescents. Additional research should seek to understand the influences of dairy intake to inform interventions aimed at improving the nutritional quality of adolescents' diets.

PROSPERO registration No. CRD42024540660.