Whole milk and 2% fat milk were stripped from schools in 2012 under the National School Lunch Program. It was an effort to reduce obesity in children.
Some nutrition experts, lawmakers and the dairy industry argue that studies suggest that kids who drink whole milk are less likely to be obese.
A U.S. Senate committee hosted a hearing Tuesday on a bill that has bipartisan support.
“Kids need wholesome, nourishing food to grow strong and stay healthy, and whole milk is packed with the nutrients they need,” said Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who is co-sponsoring the legislation.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the federal dietary guidelines requiring low-fat milk “antiquated” and last month encouraged “full fat/whole milk” to be used in Head Start programs for the nation’s youngest children.
Gwen Balto, is a registered dietitian with Brands Nutrition in Shiloh, Illinois. She points out fat in general is beneficial for things like regulating hormones, maintaining healthy skin and keeping us full and satisfied.
Having more choices of milk can increase the chances of a child finding one they like to drink and not miss out on the nutrients, Balto tells Total Information A.M.
"So, the skim and lesser fat milk can also tend to have like the chocolate flavoring, which does increase the carbohydrate content, which again is not a bad thing, but it's more so just making sure to adhere to your hunger and fullness cues of making sure that you're satisfied, but also energized. At the end of the day, both options provide those nutrients like calcium, protein, and all the fat-soluble vitamins, but the whole milk can be a bit more filling and increase the absorption of those fat-soluble vitamins."
Balto goes on to point out, "Nutrition in general can, like the headlines, change all the time. And a big reason for this is one: nutrition research is really hard to do on humans. There are so many factors that like influence how we process food, and it makes it really difficult to provide a yes or no answer. But then also, we tend to label foods as good or bad, but in reality, nutrition is really complicated, and different people can react to the same foods in different ways. So, dairy, for example, like it does contain saturated fat, and while that has its own function in our body, it also provides a ton of other important nutrients, which support overall health. So writing off dairy just because of its fat content is like avoiding avocados or nuts or seeds because those also contain fat."