Eating tree nuts tied to lowered obesity risk

A new U.S. 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 percent 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.

The study, which was published online in PLOS ONE, was partially funded through a grant from the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research and Education Foundation (INC NREF).

In another recent study, also funded by INC NREF, researchers found that people who reported eating the most nuts were less likely to die over a 24-year period than those who ate the fewest nuts (see Reuters Health story of November 20, 2013 here.

Eating nuts tied to fewer cancer, heart disease deaths People who eat a diet rich in nuts, including peanuts, are less likely to die from heart disease or cancer, new research suggests.

The more nuts consumed, the greater the apparent benefit, according to the report. It included data from nurses and other health professionals who have been tracked since the 1980s.

Heart disease and cancer - the biggest killers in the U.S. - are responsible for more than one million annual deaths nationwide.

While such evidence can't show that nuts cause the differences seen between people who love them and those who pass them by, there are reasons to believe nuts provide a direct benefit, Sabaté said.

For example, 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 foods. They also contain of host of other nutrients and plant chemicals that are beneficial to health, Sabaté said.

For the new study, the researchers used data on the diets of 803 Seventh-day Adventist men and women in the U.S. 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.