Girlsâ•Ž Dairy Intake, Energy Intake, and Weight Status

S S P a p m y e w h BSTRACT e explored the relationships among girls’ weight status, airy servings, and total energy intake. The hypothesis hat consuming dairy could reduce risk for overweight as evaluated by comparing energy intake and weight tatus of girls who met or consumed less than the recom­ ended three servings of dairy per day. Participants ncluded 172 11-year-old non-Hispanic white girls, as­ essed cross-sectionally. Intakes of dairy, calcium, and nergy were measured using three 24-hour recalls. Body ass index and body fat measures from dual-energy xay absorptiometry were obtained. Because preliminary nalyses suggested systematic underreporting of energy ntake, the relationships among dairy servings and mea­ ures of weight status were examined for the total sample nd for subsamples of under-, plausible, and overreport­ rs. Data for the total sample provided support for the ypothesized relationship among weight status, dairy ervings, and energy intake. Thirty-nine percent of girls eported consuming the recommended 23 servings of airy per day; these girls also reported higher energy ntake but had lower body mass index z scores and body at than the girls who consumed fewer than three dairy ervings each day. Among plausible reporters, no rela­ ionship between dairy intake and weight status was oted. This discrepancy may be attributable to a high ercentage (45%) of overweight underreporters in the otal sample. Our findings reveal that reporting bias, esulting from the presence of a substantial proportion of nderreporters of higher weight status, can contribute to