ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES@#To study the association between milk consumption and lactose malabsorption in Indonesian children aged 3-12 years.@*METHODS@#This cross sectional study was conducted in randomly selected presumed healthy children with good nutritional status aged 3-12 years in Central Jakarta, Indonesia (@*RESULTS@#The prevalence of lactose malabsorption in children aged 3-5 years and children aged 6-12 years was 20.8% (15/72) and 35.3% (36/102), respectively. There was no association between milk or milk product consumption and lactose malabsorption (@*CONCLUSIONS@#There is no association between milk consumption and lactose malabsorption in Indonesian children aged 3-12 years, suggesting that genetic predisposition may be more important than adaptive mechanisms to lactose consumption.