Nutrition Integrated with Fermented Dairy (NIFTY) Study

Diet, lifestyle, and environmental exposures—from pregnancy through a child’s fifth birthday—can shape health across the life course and potentially across generations (1).

During pregnancy, major hormonal changes affect insulin sensitivity, fat metabolism, inflammation, and the gut microbiome (2). Lactation places additional metabolic demands on the body to support human milk production (3). Together, these life stages represent important opportunities to support maternal and child health through nutrition.

Research in healthy adults suggests that diets rich in fermented foods and beverages may increase gut microbial diversity, reduce inflammation, and support immune function (4). Fermented dairy foods, in particular, provide high-quality protein, readily absorbed calcium, beneficial microbes, and bioactive compounds that may offer benefits beyond their nutritional value (5).

Despite their potential benefits, dairy consumption in the United States varies across population groups (6). Yogurt benefits may also be underused by families participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). A 2024 study of California WIC households with children ages 1-4 found that half of households redeemed one-third or less of the yogurt benefits issued to them (7). The reasons for low yogurt-benefit redemption are not well understood but may include limited awareness, cultural and taste preferences, product availability, cost, and uncertainty about how to select, use, or prepare yogurt and other fermented dairy foods.

To date, no study has systematically examined WIC families’ needs, knowledge, preferences, and barriers related to fermented dairy foods. The NIFTY Study—Nutrition Integrated with Fermented Dairy—was designed to address these knowledge gaps through two complementary studies.

The primary goals of the NIFTY Study are to:

1. Design and conduct a needs assessment to understand the factors that influence the adoption and use of fermented dairy foods among WIC participants.

2. Pilot-test a community-informed fermented dairy intervention designed to increase the adoption and use of these foods among WIC participants.

The first study uses an electronic survey and interviews to examine how demographic and cultural factors, knowledge, perceptions, preferences, and product acceptability relate to fermented dairy consumption among people who receive WIC benefits.

The second study is a pilot randomized controlled trial examining the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of providing fermented dairy foods, along with community-informed education and resources, on WIC participants’ dietary intake, diet quality, and health-related outcomes.

Together, these studies will help identify practical, culturally relevant approaches to making fermented dairy foods more accessible, acceptable, and easier to incorporate into the diets of WIC families.

References