This fact sheet provides information regarding the role of flavored milk in
child nutrition and its place in schools.
Flavored
Milk Facts
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The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans (DGA) encourage
the consumption of three
servings of low-fat or fat-free
dairy foods each day for those
age 2 and older because
of milk’s important nutrient
contributions to the diet.
Many health professional
organizations, including
the American Academy of
Pediatrics and the Institute
of Medicine, recognize
the importance
of consuming milk and flavored milk in
helping children and adolescents
meet their recommended daily
FACT:
intakes of dairy foods and dairy food
nutrients, such as calcium.
Flavored milk
Milk’s nutrients are necessary for
developing strong bones and teeth
as well as for overall health.
contributes
less than 3.5
percent of
added sugar
intake
in children
ages 6-12
and less than
2 percent in
teens.
Studies show that consuming
low-fat or fat-free flavored milk
can help children meet the 2005
DGA recommendations for dairy
foods and increase their intake of
milk nutrients without increasing added
sugar or total fat intake and without
adversely affecting BMI, a measure of weight status.
Offering flavored milk in schools as part of the National
School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast
Program can help children meet nutrient needs
to support bone development during peak bone
building years.
The West Virginia Standards for School Nutrition, Policy
4321.1 states “At all grade levels, it is recommended
that only water, 100 percent fruit and/or vegetable
juice and non-fat and/or one percent low-fat milk,
flavored or unflavored, be sold served or distributed
during the school day.”
Flavored milk provides the same nine essential
nutrients as white milk, including calcium, potassium,
phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin
and niacin (niacin equivalents).
Milk, white and flavored, whole, reduced-fat, low-fat
or fat-free, provides three of the five nutrients that fall
short in children’s diet, including calcium, potassium
and magnesium.
The West Virginia State Board of Education
approved policy encourages flavored milk in
schools.
Flavored milk is the most popular milk choice
among schoolchildren and accounts for 66
percent of all milk sold in schools, according to
a recent report based on the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s School Nutrition Dietary Assessment
Studies I and III.
www.wvsmartfoods.com