Milk product ‘tackles obesity’

A NEW food ingredient developed by Glanbia Nutritionals demonstrates that milk components can help tackle obesity by accelerating fat break down while maintaining lean body mass, the World Dairy Summit was told in Dublin yesterday.

Glanbia Nutritionals US vice president for research and development Eric Bastian told delegates that clinical studies using Prolibra — a combination of dairy proteins, peptides and minerals — have proven more effective in weight management than traditional diets and may link to the more severe problem, metabolic syndrome.

According to the World Health Organisation, metabolic syndrome affects 40% of the Irish population with the prevalence higher in men (24.6%) than women (17.8%). The incidence increases with age with 15% of people aged 50-59 years and 24% of those aged 60-69 years affected.

Mr Bastian said a major weakness of traditional diets is that as participants lose weight, a high proportion of that weight loss is fluid and lean or muscle tissue.

Since muscle tissue has a higher caloric requirement than fat, the loss of significant lean tissue is undesirable because it reduces the amount of calories used by the body.

In contrast, Prolibra works on the basis of accelerating fat breakdown, reducing fat deposition and maintaining lean body mass, he said.

Mr Bastian said Prolibra in Ireland is the active ingredient in the tone and slim ready-to-mix powder, which is a leading weight management solution programme in pharmacies.

“Glanbia Nutritionals is currently researching product applications that will see use of the Prolibra food ingredient extended to nutrition bars, and fruit beverages and smoothies,” he said.

Mr Bastian said traditional diets do not target fat loss. The research conducted by Glanbia Nutritionals indicates milk components can be effective in weight management, with potential to extend a positive impact on metabolic syndrome.

“While the prevalence of obesity worldwide has been documented, the incidence of related metabolic syndrome is now coming to the fore.

“Given that all the elements of metabolic syndrome are linked to obesity, the ability of milk components to impact obesity is of interest.

“The clinical studies we conducted have indicated that the unique combination of dairy peptides, proteins and minerals in Prolibra can deliver a higher reduction in body fat than traditional diets.

“This, combined with additional findings on the positive impact of whey proteins, offers significant potential for food ingredients that can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome,” he said.