Dairy-Related Dietary Patterns, Dietary Calcium, Body Weight and Composition: A Study of Obesity in Polish Mothers and Daughters, the MODAF Project

The role of the family environment in regards to dairy products and dietary calcium in the context of obesity is not fully understood. The aim of the study was to investigate the association among dairy-related dietary patterns (DDPs), dietary calcium, body weight and composition in mothers and daughters. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey within the MODAF Project. A total sample of 712 pairs of mothers ( 1 standard deviation (SD), WC > 80 cm, body fat > 32%, WHtR > 0.5, BMI = 25–29.9 kg/m2 or BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 by 44–67% when compared to low-dairy low-calcium DDP (288 mg/day). In mothers per 100 mg/day of dietary calcium, the chance of z-WC > 1SD, WC > 80 cm, z-WHtR > 1SD, WHtR > 0.5 cm, BMI = 25 to 29.9 kg/m2 or BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 decreased by 5–9%. In correspondence analysis, a clear association was found between mothers’ and daughters’ low-dairy low-calcium DDPs and upper categories of z-WC (>1 SDs). This study reinforces evidence of the similarity between mothers and daughters in dairy-related dietary patterns and provides a new insight on the adverse relation between low-dairy low-calcium dietary patterns and obesity. It was found that diets containing various dairy products with suboptimal dietary calcium content may be recommended in obesity prevention.