Walnuts are vital for healthy weight management in young women, research shows

13 Aug 2024 --- Younger women who consume walnuts and other nuts as part of their diets are less likely to live with obesity compared to their peers who do not, finds new research conducted at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, US, and funded by the California Walnut Commission.

“While additional research is needed, these results showed that food should not be judged based on calories alone. The addition of nuts, like walnuts, as a part of a healthy eating pattern, may help lower the risk of obesity,” explains Carla Miller, P.h.D., professor of Nutrition at Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington. 

“Whether it is a handful as a snack or part of a meal, even in small amounts, nuts, including walnuts, can and should be a part of a nutritious diet to support well-being.”

The cross-sectional study on the association of walnut consumption with obesity and relative fat mass among US adolescents and young adults is published in the Current Developments in Nutrition journal.

The benefits of walnuts

For the study, the research team analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which included more than 19,000 US adolescent residents aged between 12 and 19 years old and younger adults aged between 20 and 39 years old.

It looks at the associations between the consumption of walnuts and other nuts with measures of obesity, including relative fat mass (RFM). This validated tool estimates body fat percent and regional fat composition. 

Young women who consume walnuts were most clearly shown to benefit from the nut’s properties, having a significantly lower prevalence of obesity than non-nut consumers. 

This association was less clear for other groups. Younger men and adolescent boys and girls who consumed walnuts only were not found to be less likely to be obese. Adolescent girls and young women who consumed walnuts or only other nuts have a “significantly lower RFM than non-nuts consumers.”

Effects on men

At the same time, an inverted result was found for the young men in the group who consumed both walnuts and other nuts. This was not the case for adolescent boys. 

The authors note that while this recent research suggests a link between a walnut-rich diet and lower RFM, more research is needed to confirm the findings. 

The average rate of consuming nuts of any kind was low across the population groups, with 76% of adolescents and 69% of young adults stating they do not eat walnuts daily.

Additionally, the consumption of nuts in all groups was below the recommended daily amount of 56 to 85 gr/day — adolescents only consumed 2 gr/day and young adults 4 gr/day. 

A study conducted last year similarly revealed that the regular consumption of walnuts results in improved cognitive development of adolescents with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

The nuts have also been shown to positively influence heart health, as they stimulate the body’s natural production of the amino acid L-homoarginine.