Daily butter consumption halves the risk of asthma compared to daily margarine consumption

This study was published in Thorax 2003 Jul;58(7):567-72

Study title and authors:
Association of consumption of products containing milk fat with reduced asthma risk in pre-school children: the PIAMA birth cohort study.

Wijga AH, Smit HA, Kerkhof M, de Jongste JC, Gerritsen J, Neijens HJ, Boshuizen HC, Brunekreef B
National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology (CZE), Bilthoven, The Netherlands. Alet.Wijga@rivm.nl

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12832666

This study investigated the role of diet in the development of asthma in pre-school children. The study included 2,978 children. Data was collected at the age of two years and related to asthma symptoms reported at the age of three years.

The study found:
(a) Children who consumed butter daily had a 51% reduced risk of asthma compared to children who consumed margarine daily.
(b) Children who consumed full fat milk daily had a 29% reduced risk of asthma compared to children who consumed semi-skimmed milk daily.
(c) Children who consumed butter daily had a 58% reduced risk of asthma compared to children who consumed butter less than once a week.