Half a serving of dried nuts daily can help prevent weight gain and reduce the risk of obesity. These were the results from a large survey conducted in the US on health professionals, which aimed to find the association between changes in dried nuts consumption (including peanuts) and long-term weight changes. The study was published in the BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health (2019).
A 20+ YEAR STUDY
It was a large observational study with data from over a 20-year period on different groups of health professionals, from three independent cohorts: 28,000 men (Follow-up Health Study of Health Professionals, 1986-2010), 62,000 women (Nurse’s Health Study, 1986-2010), and nearly 56,000 young women (Nurse’s Health Study II, 1991-2011). All participants were from high SES backgrounds, healthy, and free of chronic diseases at baseline. Researchers followed the three groups for 20-24 years, monitoring health status, nutrition, and weight changes every 4 years. It was found that a 14g increase of dried nuts per day may be associated with a lower risk of weight gain by 2kg or more, and a 15% lower risk of obesity. It is also been recorded that adults gain approximately 0.5kg every year, on average.
DRY NUTS INSTEAD OF JUNK FOOD
As a result, experts recommend replacing half a portion of “junk food” (French fries, red and processed meats, snacks, sweets, etc.) with 14g of dried nuts per day: a simple trick to prevent long-term weight gain and reduce the risk of obesity. In fact, the regular consumption of dried nuts, in addition to its positive health benefits due to their vitamin and mineral content, help increase the sense of fullness because of their fiber content and “good” fats.
Sources:
Liu, X., Li, Y. Et al. – Changes in Nut Consumption Influence Long-Term Weight Change in US Men and Women – BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health (2019)
