The Case Against Low-fat Milk
Angela Hoffman
Article Summary
The article I found was derived from Time Magazine’s website, and is titled “The Case Against Low-fat Milk is Stronger than Ever”. The author of the article is Alice Park. In the article, Park highlights a study that was done by Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian (and colleagues) involving the effects of higher fat dairy products on the body. For people seeking healthcare advice, most have been told to avoid higher fat milks and go for the kinds lower in fat, such as skim milk. Dr. Mozaffarian disagreed, and therefore ran a study involving 3,333 adults who drank full-fat dairy products. The results came back with an interesting conclusion, and Dr. Mozaffarian now suggests that there needs to be a change in what healthcare providers are recommending that people drink in order to stay healthy. As opposed to the low-fat option of skim milk, drinking whole milk lowers the risk of being overweight or obese by about 8%. As well as lowering this risk, the conclusion was drawn that drinking milk higher in fat also lowers the risk of becoming diabetic. In conclusion, Dr. Mozaffarian believes that people should back away from the idea of only drinking milk products low in fat; milk products higher in fat are beneficial, and focusing on one nutrient in a food is what is causing such an issue, nutritionally speaking.
Article Critique
As for the validity of the article, I started out by researching more about the author, Alice Park. Park has been writing health-related articles for TIME since 1993, reporting news about the latest and greatest topics in health. Park has received two CASE media fellowships, one with Harvard Medical School, and one UCLA’s medical school. At both locations she researched and designed programs involving AIDS and the latest genomic research. She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, and BBN, as well as served on panels exploring the relationship between the media and reporting health-related news.
Based on the impressive credentials of Alice Park, it is no surprise that the article was very well-written. It was structured in a way that most can easily understand, and there were no small mechanical errors; her composition was easy to understand, while still very professional. All of the information she presented in her article was based upon a scientific study conducted by Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean of the only graduate school of nutrition in the country, located at Tufts University. Dr. Mozaffarian, former professor of Epidemiology at Harvard University, has been studying the effects of lifestyle on the body since the early 2000s. Due to Dr. Mozaffarian’s long list of impressive credentials, the scientific information provided in Park’s article is expected to be nothing less than some of the best work. The conclusion proposed at the end of the article is concise and to the point, leaving little-to-no room for confusion; the simple fact of the matter is that no single nutrient in food needs to be focused on when making recommendations for a healthier lifestyle. Milk higher in fat has benefits that even low-fat milks do not provide, therefore focusing on a single nutrient when giving professional advice is frowned upon.
Overall, the article is a pretty good source for the general public to read. It is not too difficult to understand, yet it provides all of the factual information needed for people to comprehend the effects of a certain food on their bodies.
References
Park, A. (2016, April 4). The Case Against Low-Fat Milk Is Stronger Than Ever. Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://time.com/4279538/the-case-against-low-fat-milk-is-stronger-than-ever/
TIME Media Authors. (2013, November 18). TIME Media Kit » Alice Park. Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.timemediakit.com/bios/park/
Tufts University Staff. (2015, July). Http://www.tufts.edu. Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://provost.tufts.edu/about/academic-leadership-team/mozaffarian-friedman-school-of-nutrition-science-and-policy/