Associations Between Yogurt Consumption and Obesity Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies

Background: Plenty of studies have shown that yogurt have specific benefits for human health, but the association between yogurt consumption and obesity risk is still indistinct from previous research. Objectives: The aim of this study was to make a systematic review of recent epidemiological studies about yogurt consumption and obesity risk, and conduct a meta-analysis. Methods: Related studies were searched in electronic databases up to 1 November 2020. The meta-analyses synthesize included obesity, overweight and abdominal obesity comparing extreme categories of yogurt consumption. Results: A total of 35 studies from 27 articles were carried out in the review. Yogurt intake could decrease the risk of obesity (OR:0.83, 95% CI: 0.79-0.87), and abdominal obesity (OR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.69-0.92), but showed no associations with overweight happen (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.58-1.36). A dose-response analysis shows that the risk of obesity de-creased by approximately 44% with increasing intake of yogurt up to ~165 g/day. Moreover, most prospective cohort studies reveal that the intake of yogurt in a long term can reduce weight and waist circumference, but not affect the change of BMI. Conclusions: The meta-analysis indicates that yogurt consumption would reduce the overall obesity and abdominal obesity. In addition, long term consumption of yogurt may contribute to some obesity-related anthropometry change.