KIT
"We don't really see
calories in drinks,
but they all add up.
Reduction of sugar
content in chocolate
milk could help to
reduce sugar intake
while allowing children
to get the calcium that
their bones need. - Dr
Bartosz Buczkowski
Researchers at
Manchester
Metropolitan University
set out to find a
suitable low sugar
drink for children to have in schools after
physical activity instead of high sugar
sports drinks. Milk proved to be an
effective post-exercise rehydration drink,
with chocolate-flavoured milk being even
more popular with the 56 schoolchildren,
aged four to 10, who were questioned as
part of the study.
Lead researcher Dr Bartosz
Buczkowski, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition
at Manchester Metropolitan, comments
on the results, explaining that, "Milk and
milk products are important for calcium
intake, which in turn is important for
healthy bones in growing children. Due to
sugar and fat content, full sugar flavoured
milks are seen as 'unfavourable'. We
wanted to establish whether chocolateflavoured
milk with reduced sugar content
was as acceptable to schoolchildren as
chocolate-flavoured milk with standard
sugar content. We reduced sugar
content by 30%, 40% and even 100%
and replaced sweetness lost with another
natural sweetener, asking the children to
test each one and rate what they thought
A LOTTA BOTTLE
New research shows
less-sweet milk preferred
of the taste and sweetness."
The findings, published in the
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society,
revealed unexpected results. The
researchers found that chocolateflavoured
milk with 30% less sugar was
even more acceptable to children than
the chocolate milk with standard sugar
content. The team believe that the
combination of the sugar and sweetener
working together resulted in a bettertasting product,
making it more popular
with the schoolchildren.
Past studies have focused on the
benefits of milk and looking specifically
at what it can do for athletes postworkout, exploring its rehydrating
and
restorative factors, as well as the low cost
in comparison to sports drinks.
Buczkowski adds, "The results of this
study are important because children
might prefer chocolate milk to plain milk
but sugar content in chocolate milk
and other drinks can be problematic as
consumption of high quantities of sugar
is not great for dental health. Excessive
sugar content is also something to be
considered when it comes to children's
consumption too, as it can lead to
increased body weight, but it's not always
considered. We don't really see calories
in drinks, but they all add up. Reduction
of sugar content in chocolate milk could
help to reduce sugar intake whilst allowing
children to get the calcium that their
bones need."
Acceptability of chocolate-flavoured
milk with reduced sucrose content in
schoolchildren. By B. Buczkowski, E.
Smith, and A. Turner.