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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Apr 30;13(5):1512.
doi: 10.3390/nu13051512.

Mixed Tree Nut Snacks Compared to Refined Carbohydrate Snacks Resulted in Weight Loss and Increased Satiety during Both Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance: A 24-Week Randomized Controlled Trial

Jing Wang  1   2 , Sijia Wang  1   3 , Susanne M Henning  1 , Tianyu Qin  1   4 , Yajing Pan  1   4 , Jieping Yang  1 , Jianjun Huang  1 , Chi-Hong Tseng  5 , David Heber  1 , Zhaoping Li  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Mixed Tree Nut Snacks Compared to Refined Carbohydrate Snacks Resulted in Weight Loss and Increased Satiety during Both Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance: A 24-Week Randomized Controlled Trial

Jing Wang et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Mixed tree nuts (MTNs) are an excellent source of protein and healthy fat contributing to satiety. However, their relatively high caloric content might not be beneficial in a weight loss diet. The present study was designed to test whether including MTNs in a weight loss and maintenance program interferes with weight management compared to a refined carbohydrate pretzel snack (PS). We performed a randomized, controlled, two-arm study in 95 overweight individuals consuming 1.5 oz of MTNs or PS daily as part of a hypocaloric weight loss diet (-500 kcal) over 12 weeks followed by an isocaloric weight maintenance program for 12 weeks. Participants in both groups experienced significant weight loss (12 weeks: -1.6 and -1.9 and 24 weeks: -1.5 and -1.4 kg) compared to baseline in the MTN and PS groups, respectively. However, there was no difference in weight loss and other outcome parameters between the MTN and PS groups. The MTN group showed a significant increase in satiety at 24 weeks. Both groups had a decrease in diastolic blood pressure at 12 weeks. Participants in the MTN group showed significant decreases in heart rate at 4, 12, and 24 weeks. Plasma oleic acid was significantly increased at 12 and 24 weeks in the MTN group but only at 12 weeks in the PS group. Plasma MCP-1 was decreased significantly in the MTN group at 4 weeks. In summary, participants in both groups lost weight, but only the MTN intervention increased satiety at 24 weeks, enhanced retention, decreased heart rate, and increased serum oleic acid at 24 weeks.

Keywords: human study; inflammatory markers; mixed tree nuts; weight loss; weight maintenance.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts to declare. The funder was not involved in study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of data, or in preparation of the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow diagram for the randomized controlled trial of a mixed tree nut supplement compared to pretzel supplement among healthy adults with overweight/obesity consuming a hypocaloric followed by an isocaloric diet.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of tree nuts and pretzels on body weight (A,B) and BMI (C,D) expressed as absolute values and percent change from baseline. Data are means ± SEM. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.001 compared to baseline in the same treatment group. A linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze the repeated measurements within subjects and evaluate the change within and between the tree nut and pretzel control groups. Tree nut, N = 56; pretzel N = 39.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of tree nuts and pretzels on (A) serum hs-CRP, (B) serum MCP-1, (C) serum IL-10, and (D) TNF-α concentrations. Data are means ± SEM. * p < 0.05, compared to baseline in the same treatment group. # p < 0.05, comparing the tree nut and pretzel groups. Tree nut, N = 56; pretzel N = 39. Hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; IL-10, interleukin 10 and TNFα, tumor necrosis factor-alpha. A linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze the repeated measurements within subjects and evaluate the change within and between the tree nut and pretzel control groups.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of tree nuts and pretzels on satiety. Data are means ± SEM. ** p < 0.0001 compared to baseline in the same treatment group. Tree nut, N = 56; pretzel N = 39. A linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze the repeated measurements within subjects and evaluate the change within and between the tree nut and pretzel control groups.
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