Figure 1

Distributions of plasma somatotropic hormones in two pilot studies. The Mongolia study compared concentrations of growth hormone (GH) (1a), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) (1b), and the ratio of IGF-I to its binding protein 3 (IGF-I/IGFBP-3) (1c) among 9–11 year old Mongolian boys and girls (n = 46) before (red line) and after (blue line) one month of drinking 710 ml whole milk daily. The Boston study included 6–8 year old girls (n = 28) whose concentrations of GH (1d), IGF-I (1e), and the ratio of IGF-I/IGFBP-3 (1f) were measured after 1 week consuming 710 ml of lowfat milk daily (blue line) and one week of consuming a vegetable-based macronutrient substitute for milk (red line). a) Mongolian GH. b) Boston GH. c) Mongolian IGF-I. d) Boston IGF-I. e) Mongolian IGF-I/IGFBP-3. f) Boston IGF-I/IGFBP-3.