Snacking on nuts 'helps curb onset of obesity' as you get older

Snacking on a handful of nuts, rather than biscuits or crisps, may help to ward off the weight gain that often accompanies ageing and is a relatively manageable way of helping to curb the onset of obesity, according to a new study published today.

Increasing nut consumption by just half a serving, around 14g, a day is linked to less weight gain and a lower risk of obesity, the long-term observational study in the online journal ‘BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health’ suggests.

Substituting unhealthy foods, such as processed meats, French fries, and crisps, for the half-serving may be a simple strategy to ward off the gradual weight gain that often accompanies the ageing process, researchers at the Department of Nutrition in Harvard University found.

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, a national study of more than 8,000 people aged 50 and over, led by Trinity College Dublin, has previously shown that nearly four out of five adults over the age of 50 are overweight or obese.

A similar proportion has an increased or substantially increased waist circumference.

Just one-fifth of the over-50s have a normal BMI.

The Harvard study points out that nuts are rich in healthy unsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals and fibre, but they are calorie dense, so often not thought of as good for weight control.

But emerging evidence suggests that the quality of what is eaten may be as important as the quantity.

They analysed information on weight, diet and physical activity in three groups of people: 51,529 male health professionals, aged 40 to 75 when enrolled in the ‘Health Professionals Follow Up Study’; 121,700 nurses, aged 35 to 55 when recruited to the ‘Nurses Health Study’; and 116,686 nurses, aged 24 to 44 when enrolled in the ‘Nurses Health Study II’.

Nut fibre also binds well to fats in the gut, meaning that more calories are excreted.

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