Avocados are rich in healthy fats and fiber, but consuming an avocado daily over six months did not yield any change in waist size or belly fat, according to a recently conducted study. However, avocados can help with lowering cholesterol levels in the body and improve diet quality.
A U.S. study called the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial (HAT) studied the effects of the consumption of avocados on your waist size. The study tested 1,000 people who were overweight or obese and had a large waist circumference.
The study had two groups: one group ate a diet with one avocado per day, while the other ate a diet with avocados at most twice a month (the control group).
Avocados were delivered to those in the avocado-a-day group with instructions on how to ripen and prepare them.
They took MRI scans that measured belly fat and fat around other organs at the beginning of the study and then again after six months.
When the trial ended, people who ate an avocado a day did not have less fat around their middles compared to the control group.
After 6 months, those who ate an avocado a day had:
- No weight gain. Weight was constant in both groups
- Improved diet quality
- A 2.9-mg/dL decrease in total cholesterol
- A 2.5-mg/dL decrease in LDL cholesterol
Researchers in the following universities conducted the study: Penn State University, Tufts University, Loma Linda University, and the University of California, Los Angeles, with assistance from Wake Forest University.
One of the researchers, a professor of nutritional science, Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., confirmed that “the avocados did not affect belly fat or weight gain” but proved effective in enhancing the quality of diet.
She added that Including an avocado per day may lower your cholesterol and also help with weight maintenance which is essential for improved health.
People are generally bad at adhering to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Dr Kristina S. Petersen, another of the researchers and an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, pointed out.
This study suggests that an avocado a day can improve diet quality, reducing the risk of several diseases. Higher diet quality is associated with lower risks for illnesses like type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart diseases, and several other diseases.
Researchers also stressed the importance of considering nutrition as a whole, not just individual foods.
Source: https://www.mdedge.com/cardiology/article/256397/lipid-disorders/avocado-day-doesnt-shrink-belly-fat-helps-cholesterol?ecd=WNL_eve_220721_mdedge
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