Tabloid-favourite Colleen urges young girls to consume dairy products

Coleen McLoughlin, fiancée of England and Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney, has pledged her support for the Milk Development Council’s Naturally Beautiful campaign.

Coleen has joined forces with fellow celebrities to encourage teenage girls to include dairy products as part of a healthy, balanced diet. 

It comes as worrying statistics reveal low calcium consumption in girls is posing a risk to their health. 

The initiative, also supported by the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS), harnesses teen girls’ fascination with celebrity and appearance by showing the beautifying benefits of milk, cheese and yogurt, and exploding the fat-busting myths around them.

To support the campaign, Coleen has donated her time and fashion skills to design a one-off t-shirt that will be offered as a prize in her column in Closer magazine in early May.

Coleen says: “I have witnessed first hand the pressure girls face nowadays to be as slim as their favourite celebrities.

“That is why I wanted to get involved in Naturally Beautiful, a campaign that encourages girls to be comfortable in their own skin and to eat a healthy balanced diet.

“It’s a huge worry to think that girls are copying celebrities that cut out the dairy food group. 

“Milk, cheese and yogurt are a really good source of calcium, B vitamins and essential amino acids, and not only do they help your bones grow but can help keep your skin glowing and your hair healthy.”

The Naturally Beautiful campaign has been running for two years. 

MDC-commissioned research showed three quarters of girls aged 11-16 are putting themselves at risk from diseases such as osteoporosis later in life because they do not consume enough dairy to get the daily calcium they need to develop healthy, strong bones.