November 18/Seoul/Dairy Herd Management -- A new study shows that daily intake of dairy products helps protect against the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS), especially abdominal obesity.

The study looked at more than 7,200 South Korean adults between the ages of 40 and 69.

Researchers found that participants who consumed dairy products at least twice a week significantly decreased the risk of developing MetS.

“The more frequently milk was consumed, the lower the risk of abdominal obesity and MetS was,” researchers said in the Journal of Korean Medical Science.

However, while researchers did find an association between dairy and lowering the risk of abdominal obesity in middle-aged South Korean citizens, future studies are encouraged to examine the relationship between dairy product consumption and the risk of MetS components other than abdominal obesity, such as risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.