Drinking Milk during Teenage Years will not Lower Adult Hip Fracture Risk in Men

"Got Milk?"

Of course, we're all familiar with the popular advertisements that inspire every day individuals to add a little more calcium to their regular meals and snacks. Previous studies have shown that drinking milk can help prevent osteoporosis, particularly in women, and other bone problems.

Yet a recent study conducted by researchers from Harvard and Brigham and the Women's Hospital suggest that regular dairy consumption, particularly early in life, may not necessarily guarantee better bone health in adult years.

According to a 2013 editorial published in JAMA, researchers found that drinking milk to build strong teen bones had no effect on a person's risk for hip fracture during adult life, particularly in men. Study authors examined a national survey that began in 1976 and asked over 96,000 nurses, doctors and other medical staff to recall their drinking milk habits during adolescence.

"We did not see an increased risk of hip fracture with teenage milk consumption in women as we did in men. One explanation may be the competing benefit of an increase in bone mass with an adverse effect of greater height. Women are at a higher risk for osteoporosis than men, hence the benefit of greater bone mass balanced the increased risk related to height," lead study author Dr. Diane Feskanich of Bringham and Women's Hospital said, via Medical Daily.

Statistics show that as women are more prone to osteoporosis, they are more likely to sustain hip fractures than men. The study, unfortunately, showed no beneficial or negative trend when it came to the hip-fracture risk of women who drank milk. In men, an increased consumption of milk during younger years was actually linked to an increased risk of hip fracture, contrary to the study author's expectations.

"What we found was a little surprising," Feskanich said, via USA Today. "Teen milk consumption was associated with a higher fracture risk among men, but not women."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that adolescents drink at least three glasses of milk each day or the dairy equivalent-a guideline that's intended to help growing boys and girls reach at least 95 percent of their future adult bone mineral content.

Yet these new these new findings are rather puzzling. Should the guidelines be adjusted?

More information regarding the study can be found via the article "Milk Consumption During Teenage Years and Risk of Hip Fractures in Older Adults," in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.