Source: food.ndtv.com
If you love munching on nuts, here’s some good news. According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, increasing nut consumption by just half a serving of 14 grams a day could lower risk of obesity. Researchers suggested that substituting fried foods and processed meats with nuts could be a sustainable strategy to cut risk of weight gain that is often tied with ageing. Obesity is a condition where your Body Mass Index is very high. It is one of the biggest causes of concern around the world. Obesity has been linked with various metabolic diseases like diabetes.
Nuts are a source of healthy fats, vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. Now, there is emerging evidence that shows a promising link between nuts and weight management. The study also suggested that the quantity of nuts may also play a crucial part. The long observational study tried to examine how a modest increase in nut consumption over the past two decades affected weight control.
For the US-based study, the researchers studied information on weight, diet and physical activity in three groups of people, out of which 51,529 were male health professionals, aged 40 to 75 when enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow Up Study.
Participants were asked to report their weight every four years of the 20 years of monitoring. They were also asked to state how often, over the preceding year they had eaten a serving (28 g or 1 oz) of nuts, including peanuts and peanut butter.
The study also took into account the average weekly exercise- walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, racket sports, and gardening- that was assessed every two years by questionnaire.
The findings revealed that the average annual weight gain across all three groups was 0.32 kg (0.71 lb). Increasing consumption of any type of nut was associated with less long term weight gain and a lower risk of becoming obese overall.
It was also revealed that increasing nut consumption by half a serving a day was associated with a lower risk of putting on 2 or more kilos over any 4 year period. And a daily half serving in increase of walnut consumption was associated with a 15% lower risk of obesity.
Within any 4 year period, increasing daily nut consumption from none to at least half a serving was associated with the reduction of 0.74 kg in weight, a lower risk of moderate weight gain, and a 16% lower risk of obesity, compared with not eating any nuts.
Consistently higher nut intake of at least half a serving a day was associated with a 23% lower risk of putting on 5 or more kilos and of becoming obese over the same time frame. Increased intake of peanut butter, showed no such associations.
This was an observational study and did not shed light on the causal effect of nuts on weight loss.