Consumption of dairy products is recommended as part of a healthy diet, but according to a new study, regular intake of yogurt does not improve physical or mental health.

The Spanish study involving more than 4,000 people analysed the relationship between the regular intake of yogurt and health-related quality of life, and found that there was no link with the improvement of the physical and mental parameters analysed.

For years various researchers have stated the benefits of eating yoghurt on a regular basis although its effectiveness has never been proven.

Led by researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid, the study analysed the relationship between the consumption of yogurt and the change in the test score over a three-and-a-half-year period in a sample of 4,445 Spanish adults.

"The regular consumption of yogurt was not linked to health-related quality of life," lead author Esther Lopez-Garcia told Plataforma, SINC.

"For future research more specific instruments must be used which may increase the probability of finding a potential benefit of this food," Lopez-Garcia said.

"In comparison with people that did not eat yogurt, those who ate this dairy product regularly did not display any significant improvement in their score on the physical component of quality of life, and although there was a slight improvement mentally, this was not statistically significant," said Lopez-Garcia.

The main dietary guidelines in Spain and other countries support the consumption of dairy products as part of a healthy diet.

"This is because the majority of studies have focused on the effect as a whole, but it would be interesting to evaluate the independent association between each type of product and global health indicators," Lopez-Garcia said.

The study is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.