Share

Eat more nuts to keep your weight down

accreditation
iStock
A new US study adds to growing evidence that nuts – once considered too fattening to be healthy – may in fact help keep weight down, in addition to offering other health benefits.

Researchers found that study participants who ate the most tree nuts – such as almonds, Brazil nuts, pistachios and walnuts – were between 37% and 46% less likely to be obese than those who ate the fewest tree nuts.

People who ate the most nuts were also less likely to have a suite of risk factors known as metabolic syndrome, which is tied to increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

"This is another study that shows there is an association between eating nuts and not being obese and having less tendency to have metabolic syndrome," Dr Joan Sabaté told Reuters Health. Sabaté is the study's senior author from Loma Linda University in California.

Read: Go nuts for your health

Why nuts are good for you

Nuts are high in unsaturated fat, which is known as a "good" fat compared to the saturated fat found in animal products.

The high protein content of nuts may also lead people to feel fuller and eat less unhealthy food. They also contain a host of other nutrients and plant chemicals that are beneficial to health, Sabaté said.

Body mass index

For the new study, the researchers used data on the diets of 803 Seventh-day Adventist men and women in the US who were already enrolled in another study.

Overall, those who ate a lot of tree nuts – about 16 grams (half an ounce) per day – were just a little over normal weight, on average, compared to those who ate few or no nuts and were seriously overweight or obese.

Read: Eating nuts lowers cholesterol

A normal body mass index (BMI) – a measure of weight in relation to height – for an adult falls between 18.5 and 24.9, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight people have BMIs between 25 and 29.9 and a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

Metabolic syndrome

People in the study who ate the most nuts averaged BMIs of about 27 while those who ate the least – less than 5 grams of tree nuts per day – averaged BMIs of 29 to 30.

The researchers also found that one third of the participants in the study had metabolic syndrome, which is defined as having three or more conditions associated with heart disease and diabetes risk. (Those include being obese, having high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and having a large waistline).

For every one-ounce serving of tree nuts consumed per week, however, a person's risk of having metabolic syndrome dropped by 7%.


Read More:

Adding nuts is a healthy choice

Nuts help to control diabetes 

Nuts are good for your heart


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE