It’s hard to believe that eating something high in calories can help prevent weight gain, but that’s exactly what new research indicates about nuts.
Adding to the findings of two 2018 studies that found that nuts help prevent weight gain, a new study published in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health found several weight-related benefits to consuming nuts.
Studying the benefits of nuts
For the new research, scientists looked at the data from three groups of people (including 27,521 men) for as many as 24 years to review weight, diet and exercise patterns. None of the volunteers had any chronic disease when the study started. Every 4 years the researchers asked them questions about their weight and how often they ate a serving (28 grams) of nuts. Every 2 years the researchers asked them about exercise, which they assessed using MET (metabolic equivalent of task) hours to determine how many calories they burned per hour.
What the researchers found
The scientists discovered that:
- Increasing daily nut consumption (even just by half a serving) correlated with a decreased risk of gaining 4.4 pounds over the 4-year period.
- Increasing daily walnut consumption specifically correlated with a 15% lower risk of obesity.
- Going from eating no nuts at all to consuming at least half a serving daily correlated with preventing a gain of 1.6 pounds.
- Going from eating no nuts at all to consuming at least half a serving daily correlated with an overall lowered risk of obesity and moderate weight gain.
- Increasing their daily nut consumption by just half a serving correlated with a 23% decreased risk of gaining 11 pounds or more and a lower obesity risk.
- Replacing desserts, refined grains or processed meats with half a serving of nuts correlated with preventing anywhere from .9 pounds to 1.5 pounds in the 4-year timeframe.
There were no positive effects for increasing peanut butter consumption.
