Levels of Consumption of and Preference for Milk by Sex and Age.

We investigated the levels of consumption of milk as well as preference for milk in 1, 395 healthy subjects of various ages (3~69 years) in Shizuoka Prefecture to determine if there were age-related changes in milk consumption tendency and preference for milk.The results are summarized as follows 1) In all age groups above 9 years of age, a majority (approximately 40%) consumed 200~400 ml of whole cow's milk per day.In middle-aged subjects, the number of those who consumed 400 ml or more of milk per day decreased with age, whereas there was a steady increase with age in the number of subjects who consumed no milk at all.2) Preference for milk was scored by 1.5 points.The number of subjects who liked milk gradually decreased with age while the number of those who disliked milk increased with age the number of older subjects at 6069 years of age who disliked milk was twice as much as that of young adults who were 20~29 years old.3) In children and subjects below 20 years of age, only 5~6% reported experience of symptomatic response to milk consumption.The number of adult subjects who experienced symptoms of milk intolerance gradually increased with age, reaching approximately 25% in the subjects aged 30 years or above.4) The average score of preference for milk and the average level of milk consumption were calculated in each age group, and the patterns of age-related changes were compared between male and female subjects.Both milk consumption level and the score of preference for milk showed general age-dependent patterns in both males and females, and a significant correlation (p <0.001) between milk consumption and age was observed in female subjects.Temporary rises in the score of preference for and the levels of consumption of milk were observed only in female subjects.The first peak at 25~29 years of age may reflect the need of calcium during pregnancy and for a short period following child bearing, and the second peak at 50~59 years of age may be explained as an attempt to prevent osteoporosis following menopause.