title: The scale of the evidence base on the health effects of conventional yogurt consumption: findings of a scoping review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The health effects of conventional yogurt have been investigated for over a century; however, few systematic reviews have been conducted to assess the extent of the health benefits of yogurt.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this scoping review was to assess the volume of available evidence on the health effects of conventional yogurt.
  
  
  METHODS
  The review was guided by a protocol agreed a priori and informed by an extensive literature search conducted in November 2013. Randomized controlled trials were selected and categorized according to the eligibility criteria established in the protocol.
  
  
  RESULTS
  213 studies were identified as relevant to the scoping question. The number of eligible studies identified for each outcome were: bone health (14 studies), weight management and nutrition related health outcomes (81 studies), metabolic health (6 studies); cardiovascular health (57 studies); gastrointestinal health (24 studies); cancer (39 studies); diabetes (13 studies), Parkinson's disease risk (3 studies), all-cause mortality (3 studies), skin complaints (3 studies), respiratory complaints (3 studies), joint pain/function (2 studies); the remaining 8 studies reported a variety of other outcomes. For studies of a similar design and which assessed the same outcomes in similar population groups, we report the potential for the combining of data across studies in systematic reviews.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This scoping review has revealed the extensive evidence base for many outcomes which could be the focus of systematic reviews exploring the health effects of conventional yogurt consumption.
authors.affiliation: York Health Economics Consortium, University of York York, UK.
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Glanville
authors.affiliation: York Health Economics Consortium, University of York York, UK.
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Schneider Children's Medical Center, Institute of Gastroenterology, Nutrition and Liver Diseases, Tel-Aviv University Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Raanan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shamir
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, The Medical University of Warsaw Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Hania
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Szajewska
authors.affiliation: York Health Economics Consortium, University of York York, UK.
authors.forename: Jacqualyn F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Eales
keywords: effects; evidence; health outcomes; review; yogurt