Abstract
Objective: To assess the effects of chronic walnut consumption on body weight and adiposity in elderly individuals. Methods: The Walnuts and Healthy Aging study is a dual-center (Barcelona, Spain and Loma Linda University (LLU)), 2-year randomized parallel trial. This report concerns only the LLU cohort. Healthy elders (mean age 69 year, 67% women) were randomly assigned to walnut (n = 183) or control diets (n = 173). Subjects in the walnut group received packaged walnuts (28–56 g/day), equivalent to ≈15% of daily energy requirements, to incorporate into their habitual diet, while those in the control group abstained from walnuts. Adiposity was measured periodically, and data were adjusted for in-trial changes in self-reported physical activity. Results: After 2 years, body weight significantly decreased (p = 0.031), while body fat significantly increased (p = 0.0001). However, no significant differences were observed between the control and walnut groups regarding body weight (−0.6 kg and −0.4 kg, respectively, p = 0.67) or body fat (+0.9% and +1.3%, respectively, p = 0.53). Lean body mass, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio remained essentially unchanged. Sensitivity analyses were consistent with the findings of primary analysis. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that walnuts can be incorporated into the daily diet of healthy elders without concern for adverse effects on body weight or body composition.
1. Introduction
Obesity in older adults continues to be a major public health challenge in the United States (U.S.) and around the world. More than a third of U.S. adults aged 60 years and over are considered as being obese, a trend that will continue to rise in parallel with the pace of population aging. Excess body fat is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality from heart disease, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. In older adults, obesity imposes further functional limitations on top of declining physical function and adversely affects quality of life.
Over the years, mounting scientific evidence has shown that consuming nuts in moderate amounts is associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Nuts have a high total fat content (mostly as mono- and polyunsaturated fat), ranging from 46% in cashews and pistachios to 76% in macadamia nuts, and provide 20–30 kJ per gram. They are also rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytosterols, and polyphenols. Following the approval of a qualified health claim by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) supporting the inclusion of 1.5 ounces (42 g) walnuts in the daily diet, several agencies including the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) recommend the inclusion of nuts in the daily diet to further heart health. Notwithstanding the recommendations, there is a common perception that consuming nuts on a regular basis may lead to unwanted increase in body weight and a higher risk of developing overweight or obesity. However, a meta-analysis of 33 clinical trials assessing the effects of nut-enriched diets compared with various control diets on changes in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference indicates that nut-enriched diets do not increase adiposity. In fact, including nuts as part of a weight loss regimen can lead to greater weight loss than simply following a low-fat diet. It is worth noting that many of the trials included in the meta-analysis were conducted over a relatively short period of time (≤6 m) and with mostly young and middle-age adults. Thus, whether long-term inclusion of nuts in the daily, self-selected, unrestricted-calorie diets of elderly subjects results in weight gain remains unclear.
We had a unique opportunity to clarify this issue within the framework of a 2-year trial testing the effects of walnuts on age-related cognitive decline and macular degeneration in healthy elderly subjects. We were primarily interested in determining if daily consumption of walnuts for an extended period of time induced weight gain in free-living elderly subjects when compared to a similar concurrent group of individuals with low nut consumption.