People who eat yogurt have low body weight, less body fat and smaller waists, the studies say.  

“Studies that look specifically at weight loss are very limited,” said coauthor Irene Lenoir-Wijnkoop of Utrecht University in The Netherlands.
 
“Scientifically speaking, based on this it cannot be concluded that yogurt causes weight loss, even if the tendency in this analysis is promising,” she said.  

Out of the 22 studies conducted, 13 proved that, due to the heavy yogurt intakes, people have lower body weight and smaller waists. 

Speaking on the subject, Dr. Nita Forouhi of the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in the U.K. said, “Yogurt has several micronutrients which may have potential beneficial effects, for instance calcium is involved in the metabolism of fat.”

“As yogurt is a fermented product, there are likely effects on obesity also through its effect on the gut microbiome, which is a field that is gathering more research attention now.”
 
“There is a lack of well conducted randomized controlled trials that test different types and amounts of yogurt versus no or low yogurt consumption and that are of sufficient duration and quality,” he said.

However, Lenoir-Wijnkoop opined that, the accurate affects of yogurt can be found out after a long term experiments, but not through such a short term ones. She said a detailed study of 12 months is necessary, only on yogurt.  

Especially, among the children, who consume more yogurt, they even tend to consume  more fruit, whole grains, and milk. They mostly stay away from fast food, french fries and fried foods, processed and red meats, pizza, snacks, regular soft drinks or alcohol,” she said.

Wijnkoop even opened up on adult yogurt consumers saying, adults who take yogurt regularly, tend to be more active, and are less likely to smoke.”

“Future studies should aim to address specifically the effects on weight management of different types of yogurt such as full-fat yogurt, Greek-type yogurt, low-fat, low-fat with or without added sugar, with or without added fruit and so on, to better guide choice by consumers,” Forouhi opined.

By Phani Ch