Washington – A physicians group contends that the dairy industry and several food companies are falsely claiming that dairy consumption can help people lose weight.
In a class action lawsuit obtained Monday by The Associated Press, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine takes aim at industry-funded TV and print ads which claim that consuming 24 ounces of fat-free or lowfat dairy per day can help the body burn fat. The group plans to file the suit today.
The physicians committee, which advocates a vegan diet, asks a district court in Virginia to issue an injunction banning the ads.
The filing claims that most scientific evidence shows people will either gain pounds or remain the same weight when increasing dairy consumption.
One of the defendants in the case is the International Dairy Foods Association, a trade group that represents food manufacturers that use dairy products. A spokeswoman for the group, Susan Ruland, denied the allegations, saying that many studies back up the industry’s position.
“We have been very conservative and careful in the messaging that’s been developed,” Ruland said. “The claims are reviewed by the USDA. We can see no basis for this suit other than to get attention for the animal rights agenda.” Two other defendants in the case, the National Dairy Council and Dairy Management Inc., which promote U.S. dairy consumption, said the IDFA speaks for them as well.
Another defendant in the case is Golden Valley, Minn.-based General Mills, which makes Yoplait yogurt. Company spokeswoman Marybeth Thorsgaard said General Mills strongly believes its claims are valid. The other defendants in the case, Kraft Foods, Dannon Co., Lifeway Foods and McNeil PPC, did not return phone messages left Monday.
“Obesity is a serious problem,” said the physicians committee president, Neal Barnard. “This is a completely bogus solution.” The lawsuit follows similar complaints filed by the physicians committee earlier this year with the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration. In the latest filing, the committee enlisted one of its members, Catherine Holmes of Arlington, Va., as a plaintiff in a class action suit.
Holmes, 46, said she went from 162 pounds to 164 pounds while increasing her dairy consumption with products such as yogurt and cottage cheese.
“I love dairy anyway, and wanted to see if it (the weight) would come rolling off,” she said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t.” Holmes said she still eats dairy products, but not as a weight-loss product.
“I won’t have three a day anymore,” she said.
The specific claim made by the dairy industry is that studies show that people will lose weight by consuming three servings of dairy a day, if they are already eating a reduced-calorie diet.
The physicians committee filing says the industry heavily relies on a University of Tennessee researcher, Michael B. Zemel. The suit argues his findings are suspect because he receives funding from the dairy industry.
Zemel, who runs the university’s Nutrition Institute, said the funding he has received from General Mills and the National Dairy Council hasn’t affected his findings.
“People who raise this red flag really don’t understand science,” he said. “Science is an incredibly transparent process.” Zemel added that he’s been a vegetarian himself for 36 years, although he does consume dairy. He said he gave up eating meat because of ethical concerns about animals.
“I understand the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine wants to promote an ethical agenda of animal rights, but as a vegetarian, I’m deeply offended by their approach,” he said.
