Study: Lactose intolerance is lower than expected among Americans

ROSEMONT, Ill. Prevalence of lactose intolerance may be far lower than previously estimated, according to a study in the latest issue of Nutrition Today published last week.

The study, which used data from a national sample of three ethnic groups, revealed that the overall prevalence rate of self-reported lactose intolerance is 12% – with 7.7% of European Americans, 10.1% of Hispanic Americans and 19.5% of African-Americans who consider themselves lactose intolerant.

These new findings indicate that previous estimates of lactose intolerance incidence – based on the incidence of lactose maldigestion – may be overestimated by wide margins. Previous studies have found lactose maldigestion, or low lactase activity in the gut, to occur in approximately 15% of European Americans, 50% of Mexican Americans and 80% of African Americans. The new study shows that lactose intolerance, based on self-reported data, may actually occur far less frequently than presumed.

"There's so much confusion surrounding lactose intolerance," stated Theresa Nicklas, of the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine and lead study author. "By getting a better handle on the true number of people who deal with this condition every day, the nutrition community can be better equipped to educate and provide dietary guidance for Americans, including strategies to help meet dairy food recommendations for those who self-report lactose intolerance."

Since increasing daily consumption of dairy can be an effective strategy for ensuring adequate intake of necessary nutrients (such as calcium, magnesium and potassium), those who do experience symptoms of lactose intolerance should know there are several practical solutions that can allow for consumption of milk and milk products.