NEW YORK, April 24: Despite its added sugar, flavoured milk may be better for kids than no milk at all, and may even be as healthy as the plain variety, a study of US children suggests.

Using national survey data on over 7,500 2- to 18-year-olds, researchers found that those who drank flavoured milk had similar intakes of calcium, vitamin A, potassium and saturated fat as those who drank only plain milk.

And both groups, the study found, got more of these nutrients than children who drank no milk at all.

One reason parents might be wary of chocolate or strawberry milk is that the added sugar might encourage excess weight gain. But in this study, milk drinkers and non-drinkers had a similar average body mass index (BMI), the researchers report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

The findings suggest that flavoured milk can be part of a sound diet for children, according to the research team, led by Mary M. Murphy, a nutrition science researcher with Arlington, Virginia-based ENVIRON International Corp.

Experts recommend that children get two to three servings of dairy products per day, Murphy and her colleagues note.

“Access to low-fat or non-fat flavoured milk could help children and adolescents meet the recommended intakes of dairy servings,” they write.—Reuters