Nut and peanut consumption is associated with reduced risk for obesity and less weight gain.

Prospective study of nut consumption, long-term weight change, and obesity risk in women.

M Bes-Rastrollo, Nicole M Wedick, M A Martinez-Gonzalez, Te-Mao Li, Laura A Sampson, Fuliang Hu

Am J Clin Nutr

Jun 1, 2009

Sources

0:00 / 0:00

Sign in to access this feature

Create a free account or sign in to use AI summaries, listen to articles, download PDFs, and save to your library.

409 views

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Data concerning the long-term association between nut consumption and weight change in a free-living population are sparse. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine the relation between nut consumption and long-term weight change. DESIGN: The participants were 51,188 women in the Nurses' Health Study II aged 20-45 y, who had no cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or cancer. We prospectively evaluated the dietary intake of nuts and subsequent weight changes from 1991 to 1999. RESULTS: Women who reported eating nuts>or =2 times/wk had slightly less mean (+/- SE) weight gain (5.04 +/- 0.12 kg) than did women who rarely ate nuts (5.55 +/- 0.04 kg) (P for trendor =2 times/wk). The results were similar in normal-weight, overweight, and obese participants. In multivariate analyses in which lifestyle and other dietary factors were controlled for, we found that greater nut consumption (>or =2 times/wk compared with never/almost never) was associated with a slightly lower risk of obesity (hazard ratio: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.57, 1.02; P for trend = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Higher nut consumption was not associated with greater body weight gain during 8 y of follow-up in healthy middle-aged women. Instead, it was associated with a slightly lower risk of weight gain and obesity. The results of this study suggest that incorporating nuts into diets does not lead to greater weight gain and may help weight control.