Testimony Submitted on the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act

To: The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

From: Nina E. Teicholz, Ph.D., Founder, The Nutrition Coalition, Author and Journalist

Re: S. 222, The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act

Date: March 31, 2025

1. Introduction

Natural, whole milk, the kind you get direct from a cow, is not allowed in America’s public schools.[1] Whole milk is just 3.25% fat by weight, compared to the 1% (low-fat) or 0% (skim). Yet for those serving lunches funded by the US. Department of Agriculture (USDA), whole milk cannot even be sold in a vending machine or anywhere on school grounds between midnight and 30 minutes after the end of class.[2]

The stated goal of the USDA child nutrition programs is to try to keep our children healthy. And we’re clearly failing. Some 45 years ago, less than 5% of children ages 2 to 17 had obesity. In 2020, that number had quadrupled to nearly 20%, and after the disastrous effects of the Covid pandemic on health, that rate is now likely to be higher. Black and Hispanic children suffer even more, with roughly 25% obesity rates.

Is whole milk the problem? This chart provides an answer:

 [Credit for milk portion of graph: Progressive Dairy]

Whatever drives the ill-health of our nation’s children, it is not the milk. 

2. What about saturated fat and heart disease?

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines (DGA) and the American Heart Association (AHA) claim that saturated fats cause heart disease. However, the data in their scientific reviews are based exclusively on adults.  

The only time that the USDA reviewed the data on children was during the process for the 2020 Dietary Guideline. That review found “insufficient evidence” to show that restricting saturated fats in childhood could prevent heart disease or mortality in adulthood.[3] However, the USDA expert committee found “strong” evidence that a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol during childhood could lead to lower levels of total blood and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol throughout childhood.

Yet, this review did not include clinical trial data on normal, school-aged children. Therefore, these data cannot be generalized to the larger population, as the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee itself noted in its review.[4]

The USDA review cited only two clinical trials. These trials demonstrated little evidence of any health benefit while showing potential harm, including nutritional deficiencies. 

Clinical trial data are required as essential by all internationally recognized methodologies for establishing population-wide guidelines. 

The two trials are: 

• A trial from Finland, called “STRIP,” on children under the age of three. The children in this trial relied on vitamin supplements to avoid nutritional deficiencies. Also, they saw their HDL-cholesterol drop, which is a sign of increasing heart disease risk;[5,6]

• An NIH-funded study from 1987 called “DISC,” which only included children with abnormally high LDL-cholesterol (in the 80th to 98th percentile), reflecting a likely genetic disorder. In other words, these children could very well have had familial hypercholesterolemia, the genetic condition that causes heart disease through a metabolic defect, which is entirely different from the way that cholesterol is altered by diet. This unusual population meant that the trial could not reasonably be generalized to the larger population, as the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee noted in its review (p.33). Further, the children on the DISC low-fat diet ended up consuming less than 2/3 of the RDAs for calcium, zinc, and vitamin E. They also got less magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin B12, thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin than did children in the control group.[7]

Before this 2020 review, the USDA had been advising children to limit these fats for more than 40 years without evidence. During those decades, the USDA assumed that advice for middle-aged men and women could be extended to children. However, children are not simply small grown-ups. Their nutritional needs are very different, including the requirement for more protein to support growing bodies and more fat for their developing brains. 

3. Further scientific evidence on whole milk

Milk is a primary source of vital nutrients in young Americans’ diets, delivering numerous health advantages, such as improved bone health, decreased blood pressure, and mitigated risks of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

• Children who drank whole milk were found to grow up to be thinner, according to a meta-analysis of observational data.[8]

• Americans aged 2 to 20 years with obesity were less likely to drink whole milk than fat-free or 1% milk, compared with healthy-weight children, according to government data.[9]

• A systematic review of 29 studies found that consumption of whole-fat dairy products was not associated with increased measures of weight gain or adiposity.[10]

• A systematic review of 29 studies found that consumption of whole-fat dairy products was not associated with increased measures of weight gain or adiposity.[11]

• Among children aged 9 months to 8 years, each 1% increase in cow’s milk fat consumed was associated with a 0.05 lower BMI score after adjustment for covariates, including volume of milk consumed. Compared to children who consumed reduced fat (0.1–2%) milk, there was evidence that children who consumed whole milk had 16% lower odds of overweight and 18% lower odds of obesity.”[12]

4. First, do no harm

Milk is a naturally rich source of calcium, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B12, potassium, and phosphorus and is supplemented with Vitamin A and Vitamin D. Several of these nutrients require fat for complete absorption. Because non-fat and 1% milk lack fat, these crucial, essential nutrients are not fully absorbed. Nutrient deficiencies have consistently been found in studies on diets reduced in fat and cholesterol, including on children:

• The NIH-funded Bogalusa Heart Study published in Pediatrics in 1992 found that children ages 8 to 10 on a low-fat diet had a significantly higher chance of failing to meet the RDAs for vitamins B1, B12, and E, as well as thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin, compared to a group eating more than 40 percent fat.[13]

• In the DISC study mentioned above, researchers found that the children on the low-fat diet consumed less than two-thirds of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for calcium, zinc, and vitamin E. They also got less magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin B12, thiamin, niacin, and riboflavin than did children in the control group.

Respectfully,

Nina Teicholz
Chair, The Nutrition Coalition
Nutritioncoalition.us

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[2] https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/sde/nutrition/compfoods/summary_smart_snacks_nutrition_standards.pdf

[3] 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee; Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review Team. Types of Dietary Fat and Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review; 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Project, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: Alexandria, VA, USA, 2020. Available online: https://nesr.usda.gov/2020-dietary-guidelines-advisory-committee-systematic-reviews/dietary-fats-and-seafood-subcommittee/dietary-fat-cardiovascular-disease(accessed on 30 May 2023)

[4] Ibid., p. 33.

[5] Niinikoski, Harri, Hanna Lagström, Eero Jokinen, et al. “Impact of Repeated Dietary Counseling Between Infancy and 14 Years of Age on Dietary Intakes and Serum Lipids and Lipoproteins: The STRIP Study.” Circulation 116, no. 9 (August 13, 2007): 1032–1040.

[6] Niinikoski, Harri, Jorma Viikari, Tapani Rönnemaa, et al. “Regulation of Growth of 7- to 36-Month-Old Children by Energy and Fat Intake in the Prospective, Randomized STRIP Baby Trial.” Pediatrics 100, no. 5 (November 1997): 810–816.

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=11158455

[8] Górska-Warsewicz H, Rejman K, Laskowski W, Czeczotko M. Milk and Dairy Products and Their Nutritional Contribution to the Average Polish Diet. Nutrients. 2019 Aug 1;11(8):1771. doi: 10.3390/nu11081771.

[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31851302/

[10] https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12612

[11]  https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmaa011

[12] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41366-021-00948-6

[13] Nicklas, Theresa A., Larry S. Webber, MaryLynn Koschak, and Gerald S. Berenson. “Nutrient Adequacy of Low Fat Intakes for Children: The Bogalusa Heart Study.” Pediatrics 89, no. 2 (February 1, 1992): 221–228.
[12] Cohen et. al. Nutrition, 2015:727-732.