WORLDWIDE – Children who do not drink milk run a greater risk of breaking their bones, according to research published in the American Dietetic Association’s journal.

This is the first time a study has linked the avoidance of milk with increased bone fractures. Up until now studies have only shown that children who habitually avoid milk have low calcium intakes and poor skeletons.

The observational study compared the fracture histories of 50 children (30 girls and 20 boys aged 3 to 13 years) who avoided milk and did not eat other calcium-rich foods or take supplements, with 1,000 milk drinking children from the same city (Dunedin) in New Zealand.

The results show that nearly one in three of those that did not drink milk had a broken a bone before the age of eight, frequently from a minor trip or fall.