20120201 - Nutritional balance of low-fat natural yogurt - 2011

[Data]

[<Normal page] [PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2011). Nutritional balance of low-fat natural yogurt. Journal of Knowledge Advancement & Integration (ISSN 1177-4576), 2012, pages 34-36.]

Low-fat natural yogurt's BNI

Perezgonzalez assessed the nutritional balance of low-fat natural yogurt in 2011, as part of a research on yogurts in New Zealand.

Low-fat natural yogurt had, on average, a nutritional balance of BNI 54.72s, being particularly biased towards excess of sugar. It was adequate in carbohydrate and sodium, high in protein and saturated fat, and low in fat and fiber. It also provided about 163mg of calcium per 100g of yogurt.

Illustration 1: Nutrition information (low-fat natural yogurt)

BNI	54.72s	0.00

Food, 100g	2011	Ideal
Protein	4.4	2.9
Carbohydrate	7.8	8.1
Sugar	4.6	< 1.5
Fat	1.1	1.6
Saturated fat	0.7	< 0.7
Fiber	0.7	0.9
Sodium	0.043	< 0.059
Kcal	58.7	58.7
kJul	245.6	245.6

Illustration 2: Nutritional profile (low-fat natural yogurt)

55%		*
50%		*
45%		*
40%		*
35%		*
30%	*	*
25%	*	*
20%	*	*
15%	*	*	*
10%	*	*	*
5%	*	*	*
mid	p	c	f	fb
max		s	sf		na
5%		*	*
10%		*	*
15%		*
20%		*
25%		*
30%		*

ideal % = grey cells; actual % = asterisk (*)

International standards

Low-fat natural yogurt appeared as slightly unbalanced according to US/CAN Recommended Dietary Intakes (RDIs), as moderately unbalanced according to AUS/NZ and UK standards, and as highly unbalanced according to WHO standards.

Illustration 3: Nutritional balance across international RDIs

Low-fat natural yogurt	(diet)	54.72	74.26	14.87	54.94	40.69

Product100g	Company	BNI	WHO	US/CAN	AUS/NZ	UK
Fresh'n Fruity plain unsweetened	Fonterra	33.12	53.12	13.12	33.12	11.73
Symbio Probalance natural unsweetened	Fonterra	34.26	54.83	15.72	34.00	12.38
Yoplait natural style	National Foods	56.49	76.35	26.49	56.49	54.49
Biofarm natural	Biofarm	63.94	83.94	16.68	63.62	41.62
Yoplait Elivae natural style	National Foods	67.18	85.16	37.17	67.16	63.28
Meadow Fresh natural sweetened yogurt	Goodman Fielder	96.76	116.76	64.88	96.76	92.88
(Source: Perezgonzalez, 2011a¹)

Methods

Research approach

Exploratory study.

Data

The initial research sample included 342 yogurt products (ie, cow-milk and soy, natural and flavored, and fat-free, low-fat, standard and creamy)¹. The sample was collected in a convenient manner, looking more for a large sample than a random selection of products. The results in this study simply describe the 'subsample' of low-fat natural cow-milk yogurts within the original sample: ie, 6 products.

Materials & analysis

Relevant data were collated, then assessed using the Balanced Nutrition Index™ (BNI™) technology (see Perezgonzalez, 2011b²). SPSS-v18 was used for the computation of variables, including BNI and international indexes, and statistical analyses.

Generalization potential

Most of the products were produced locally, although some may have been imported or exported, especially from and to Australia, respectively. Thus, the results of this study may be generalizable to the following populations (in order of decreasing generalization power):

Australia.
Internationally, if one assumes yogurt products to be of approximately similar nutritional composition anywhere.

References

1. PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2011a). Yogurts galore. The Balanced Nutrition Index (ISSN 1177-8849), 2012, issue 1. (Retrievable from http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/BNI).

2. PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2011b). Balanced Nutrition Index™ (BNI™). Journal of Knowledge Advancement & Integration (ISSN 1177-4576), 2011, pages 20-21. Also retrievable from Wiki of Science.

Want to know more?

BNI™ database: The database offers individual nutrition analyses for foods, including the food referred to in above article.
BNI™ journal (2012, issue 1) - Yogurts galore: This issue of the Balanced Nutrition Index™ journal collates all BNI™ nutrition information for the original sample in a single book.
Wiki of Science - Nutritional balance of foods: This Wiki of Science page collates information about several foods on a single page and provides useful links to the appropiate files.