Dairy helps you look good, claims new campaign

The British dairy industry is appealing to the vanity of teenage girls in a bid to get them to drink more milk.

A £3 million marketing campaign launched by the Milk Development Council (MDC) this week will promote the beauty benefits offered by nutrients in dairy products, including the link between B vitamins and healthy skin, calcium’s role in toothcare and the use of protein and amino acids in healthy hair.

Calcium intake is important during adolescence as this is considered a key period for the formation of bones and protection against osteoporosis later in life. However research by the industry body suggests that only one out of four girls is eating at least three portions of dairy products daily.

“What’s important to teenage girls is looking good," said Vicky Hathaway, marketing manager at the MDC, a government-appointed marketing body for the UK milk sector.

“There is no point talking to them about osteoporosis, which they view as a long-term condition that is not life-threatening. We have to give them other reasons for eating more calcium.”

The campaign, backed by a €2.1 million grant from the European Commission, uses a range of media including cinema, radio and press, to carry the ‘Naturally Beautiful’ message.

Steve - This is amazing. It sounds like the British and US Dairy Council are "in cahoots." Appealing to the vanity of teenage girls to drink milk? How much lower can you go? The fact that this campaign is backed by a European government body makes it that much scarier.

Over 62% of the world are lactose intolerant, and many more are sensitive or allergic. A recent review study in Journal Pediatrics showed that milk had little or no benefit in building strong bones ijn children and teens. In fact, heavy milk drinking countries have the highest bone fracture and osteoporosis risk. Milk has never been clinically shown to promote weight loss. Based upon the proven fact that our genes have changed very little over the last 10,000 years, milk and dairy products (unless breast milk) are genetically incompatible. Many researchers believe high milk and dairy product consumption is one of the main reasons why obesity is a worldwide epidemic.