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Dairy products and physical stature: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials

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  • de Beer, Hans

Abstract

The positive relationship between per capita availability of dairy products and average height found in historical studies (for instance in nineteenth century Bavaria, Prussia and France; Baten, 2009) does not necessarily indicate a causal relationship. Historical studies usually apply non-experimental methods that may produce substantial bias. Modern experimental controlled studies may provide high quality evidence supporting a causal relationship between consumption of dairy products and physical growth. This paper provides a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials investigating the effect of supplementing usual diet with dairy products on physical growth. Twelve studies provided sufficient, independent data for meta-analysis. Seven studies were conducted since the 1990s. The other studies were conducted between 1926 and 1980. Studies were conducted in Europe, USA, China, Northern Vietnam, Kenya, Indonesia and India. Many studies had some internal validity problems such as lack of randomisation or dissimilarity of groups at baseline regarding height and age, which affects the quality of evidence.

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  • de Beer, Hans, 2012. "Dairy products and physical stature: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 299-309.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:10:y:2012:i:3:p:299-309
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2011.08.003
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    Cited by:

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    3. Derek Headey & Kalle Hirvonen & John Hoddinott, 2018. "Animal Sourced Foods and Child Stunting," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(5), pages 1302-1319.
    4. Akachi, Yoko & Canning, David, 2015. "Inferring the economic standard of living and health from cohort height: Evidence from modern populations in developing countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 114-128.
    5. John Hoddinott & Derek Headey & Mekdim Dereje, 2015. "Cows, Missing Milk Markets, and Nutrition in Rural Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 958-975, August.
    6. Choudhury, Samira & Headey, Derek D., 2018. "Household dairy production and child growth: Evidence from Bangladesh," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 150-161.
    7. Alok Bhargava, 2015. "Diet Quality, Child Health, and Food Policies in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank Group, vol. 30(2), pages 247-276.
    8. Akachi, Yoko & Canning, David, 2015. "Inferring the economic standard of living and health from cohort height: Evidence from modern populations in developing countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 114-128.
    9. Headey, Derek & Hirvonen, Kalle & Hoddinott, John, 2017. "Animal sourced foods and child stunting: Evidence from 112,887 children in 46 countries," 2018 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 5-7, 2018, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 264958, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Blum, Matthias & McLaughlin, Eoin, 2019. "Living standards and inequality in the industrial revolution: Evidence from the height of University of Edinburgh students in the 1830s," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 185-192.
    11. Muunda, Emmanuel & Mtimet, Nadhem & Schneider, Franziska & Wanyoike, Francis & Dominguez-Salas, Paula & Alonso, Silvia, 2021. "Could the new dairy policy affect milk allocation to infants in Kenya? A best-worst scaling approach," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    12. Elena Sánchez-García & José-Miguel Martinez-Carrión & Jose Manuel Terán & Carlos Varea, 2021. "Biological Well-Being during the “Economic Miracle” in Spain: Height, Weight and Body Mass Index of Conscripts in the City of Madrid, 1955–1974," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-16, December.
    13. Ruel, Marie T. & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Balagamwala, Mysbah, 2017. "Nutrition-sensitive agriculture: What have we learned and where do we go from here?:," IFPRI discussion papers 1681, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Baten, Joerg & Maravall, Laura, 2021. "The influence of colonialism on Africa's welfare: An anthropometric study," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 751-775.
    15. Quanjer, Björn & Kok, Jan, 2019. "Homemakers and heights. Intra-household resource allocation and male stature in the Netherlands, 1860–1930," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 194-207.
    16. Carolin Schmidt, 2018. "Home is where the health is: Housing and adult height from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries," ERES eres2018_33, European Real Estate Society (ERES).

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