Obese individuals who consume more dairy products may be less likely to develop risk factors for diabetes, according to a recently published study by Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Children’s Hospital in Boston.

The study, published in last week’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, follows the incidence of insulin resistance syndrome, a condition that can lead to diabetes as well as heart disease.

Mark Pereira, an epidemiologist at the Children’s Hospital and HMS who oversaw the study, said insulin resistance can occur in obese individuals because they have a compromised ability to process insulin. The study showed that for overweight people, consuming dairy products more than five times a day, as opposed to only once, can reduce the risk of insulin resistance syndrome by 72 percent.

“There is an increased concern over insulin resistance syndrome because it is so prevalent in the U.S.,” Pereira said. “One in four Americans is affected, so it’s becoming a public health problem.”

Pereira said the change in the body’s ability to use insulin, caused by obesity, is what often leads to Type 2 diabetes. That is the mild form of non-insulin dependant diabetes that is characterized by glucose intolerance, rather than the more severe Type 1 diabetes which is characterized by an inability to produce insulin.

Examining data from a University of Minnesota study, the HMS-Children’s Hospital study followed 3,100 young adults at four centers around the country for ten years.

The researchers found that people who ate fewer dairy products had more risk factors for insulin resistance and, therefore, diabetes. From this relationship, they concluded that eating more dairy products would reduce the likelihood of developing the risk factors.

Pereira said there are several ways dairy may protect against insulin resistance, obesity and cardiovascular disease.

“Milk, as opposed to soda, contains a large distribution of nutrients, making it more satisfying and preventing further eating and obesity,” he said.

However, the exact manner in which dairy affects insulin resistance is unknown. “Individuals who consume more dairy tend to lead healthier lifestyles, so the reduction of risk factors is not necessarily inherent to dairy consumption.”

Pereira said he is planning to follow this study with more work on how dietary composition affects body weight and risk factors for diabetes.