title: Nut consumption, weight gain and obesity: Epidemiological evidence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Short-term trials support that adding tree nuts or peanuts to usual diets does not induce weight gain. We reviewed the available epidemiological evidence on long-term nut consumption and body weight changes. We also report new results from the SUN ("Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra") cohort.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Published epidemiologic studies with ≥1-yr follow-up were located. Two published reports from large cohorts (SUN and Nurses Health Study-2) showed inverse associations between frequency of nut consumption and long-term weight changes. A beneficial effect of a Mediterranean diet supplemented with tree nuts on waist circumference was reported after 1-yr follow-up in the first 1224 high-risk participants in the PREDIMED ("PREvencion DIeta MEDiterranea") trial. After assessing 11,895 participants of the SUN cohort, a borderline significant (p value for trend = 0.09) inverse association between baseline nut consumption and average yearly weight gain (multivariate-adjusted means = 0.32 kg/yr (95% confidence interval: 0.22-0.42) and 0.24 (0.11-0.37) kg/yr for participants with no consumption and >4 servings/week, respectively) was found after a 6-yr follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consumption of nuts was not associated with a higher risk of weight gain in long-term epidemiologic studies and clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Spain. mamartinez@unav.es
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martínez-González
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bes-Rastrollo
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D006801:Humans; D009754:Nuts; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference; D015430:Weight Gain