The “Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology” (PURE) study examined whether there is an association between the daily consumption of dairy products and the metabolic syndrome, arterial hypertension and type II diabetes. The metabolic syndrome exhibits the following pathologies: high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and elevated blood glucose. This syndrome leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and increased mortality.

This study could prove an association. With a sufficiently extensive and long-term study, a possible cheap way to reduce metabolic syndrome, hypertension and diabetes could thus be demonstrated.