6 May 2010 --- A new study has shown that consuming Anlene significantly reduces the amount of bone loss in post-menopausal Asian women within four weeks. Anlene, Fonterra’s high calcium adult milk brand in Asia, is the only product shown to have achieved such effective results within this short time frame.

The research, conducted in Jakarta and Manila through leading medical research centres, monitored 60 women, at least five years post menopause in each country. Thirty randomized women were given two servings a day of Anlene and the remaining 30 were given a placebo control rice milk drink twice a day across 16 weeks.

Joanne Todd, Senior Health Platform Manager for Anlene, says: “The study showed that Anlene had a rapid effect, and was better at regulating and reducing calcium loss and bone breakdown. In less than four weeks the rate of breakdown of the patient’s bones was reduced and within eight weeks, participants bone turnover was significantly lowered. The Vitamin D status among the Anlene drinkers also significantly improved within 16 weeks.”

“This adds further scientific backing to Anlene, the first high calcium milk of its kind in Asia and the only milk drink clinically proven to prevent bone breakdown.”

Fonterra has been active in researching and promoting bone health in Asia. The company has spent more than US$50 million on bone health research and has conducted 18 clinical trials relating to bone health.

“Working alongside Massey University in Palmerston North, we are uncovering and applying the latest in bone health research to our Anlene product in Asia.”

Anlene is the market leader in the high calcium, adult dairy product category across Asia and has experienced a 15% increase in growth this financial year last year. The results of this latest study were launched by ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ and ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ movie star Michelle Yeoh in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Ms Yeoh has been the bone health ambassador for Anlene for the past 2 years.

Fonterra Brands Indonesia won a Gold award at the Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards last month for the three-year “Anlene Movement Indonesia” campaign that saw Indonesian market share rise from 43% to 72%.

One in three women in Asia is at risk of developing osteoporosis, yet bone health is largely unrecognised as a health issue across the region. A recent report from the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) concluded that the average dietary calcium intake for adults in Asia was 450 mg/day, well below the FAO/WHO recommended calcium intake of 1000-1300 mg/day.

Vitamin D deficiency is also widespread and on the increase across the globe, with the highest rates recorded in South Asia . The IOF reported that low Vitamin D levels were prevalent in up to 50% of older women in Thailand and Malaysia. Among younger women in Beijing and Hong Kong the prevalence of insufficiency was as high as 90%.

The study has been published in prestigious bone health journal ‘Bone’, in the February 2010 issue.