Washington : A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Tennesse suggests that eating yoghurt helps fat loss in the body.

The researchers found that obese adults who ate three servings of fat-free yoghurt a day as part of a reduced-calorie diet lost 22 per cent more body fat than those who simply cut off calories and did not bone up on calcium. Yoghurt eaters also lost 81 per cent more fat in the stomach area than non-yoghurt eaters.

"Not only did yoghurt help the study participants lose more weight - the average weight loss was 6 kg - they were about twice as effective as mantaining lean muscle mass. This is a critical issue when dieting - you want to lose fat, not muscle. Muscle helps burn calories, but it is often compromised during weight-loss," said lead researcher Micheal Zemel.