A randomized trial of the effects of an almond-enriched, hypocaloric diet in the treatment of obesity
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 07/16/2012
Foster GD et al. – The almond–enriched diet (AED) and nut–free diet (NFD) groups experienced clinically significant and comparable weight loss at 18 mo. Despite smaller weight loss in the AED group at 6 mo, the AED group experienced greater improvements in lipid profiles.
Methods- Overweight and obese individuals [n = 123; age = 46.8 y, BMI (in kg/m2) = 34.0] were randomly assigned to consume an AED or NFD and instructed in traditional behavioral methods of weight control.
- Anthropometric and metabolic measurements were made at baseline, 6 mo, and 18 mo.
- Those in the AED group lost slightly but significantly less weight than did those in the NFD group at 6 mo, but there were no differences at 18 mo.
- No significant differences in body composition were found between the groups at 6 or 18 mo.
- The AED, compared with the NFD, was associated with greater reductions in total cholesterol (P = 0.03), total:HDL cholesterol (P = 0.02), and triglycerides (P = 0.048) at 6 mo, and no differences were observed between the groups at 18 mo.
