Recommendations for nutsheps

reference

brown r, gray ar, chua mg, goods l, chisholm a, tey sl. Is a handful of an effective way to give nut recommendations? Int J Environ res public health . 2021; 18 (15): 7812.

study goal

The aim of this study was to quantify the actual amount of nuts that people choose when they use different descriptive terms (handful, large/small, common or 30 g).

Key to take away

The recommendation of a "handful" nut in the perception of around 8 out of 10 people means more than 30 g nuts.

draft

A descriptive study to determine the weight of the weight assumed portions of nuts when the participants have been instructed to consume different types of "handful".

participant

The investigators recruited 124 adults from Dunedin, New Zealand, with 120 subjects being enclosed in the end analysis (75 women and 45 men). The average age was 34 years (24–51). There were about the same number of subjects who were normally, overweight and obese.

The ethnic affiliations of all subjects included New Zealand European (58, 48.3 %), Māori (7, 5.8 %), Pacific Islands (2, 1.7 %), Asians (50, 41.7 %) and other (3, 2.5 %).

exclusion: Anyone who is allergic or intolerant towards nuts. The final number of subjects included in the study was 120.

intervention

After the test subjects had filled out a questionnaire about their usual nut consumption and evaluated their general hunger, they were randomized to maintain 3 out of 6 nut species, and were instructed to take the nuts out of a bowl based on what they felt as:

1. a "usual portion" nuts,
2. a "handful" nut
3. a "small handful" nut
4. a "big handful" nuts, and
5. corresponds to a "30 g portion" nuts.

study parameters evaluated

The rated parameters included the starting value of the subject's nut consumption, the overall rated hunger (from "not" to "extremely" hungry) and the perception of the 5 nuts mentioned above.

After the test subjects ended the experiment, the investigators weighed each of the 5 perceived portions and noted the size of each participant (as a replacement for the hand size).

primary result

The primary result was to determine whether the term "a handful" is a useful and precise method to guide consumers to eat about 30 g nuts a day to reduce the occurrence of chronic diseases.

important knowledge

The most important results of this study were that the test subjects' estimates had great variability for the 5 different portions, and these also fluctuated between the nuts.

The variability between the test subjects was considerable: a “handful” of 9.1 g to 106.3 g. In a 30 g portion, the area was between 6.0 g and 148.5 g.

The middle weights of the nuts for all participants and all nuts were as follows:

1. a "usual portion" = 24.8 g
2. a "handful" = 36.3 g
3. a "small handful" = 16.7 g
4. a "big handful" = 61.3 g
5. "30 g portion" = 28.7 g

nussportions : A total of 83.0 % of the subjects chose at least 80 % of the recommended 30 g portion if they were told that they should take a "handful" nuts compared to 62.7 % if they were told a "30 g portion", and 52 % if they were asked to do so. This indicates that the term "a handful" could be a more useful general concept if you make recommendations for the inclusion of nuts as "30 grams".

Nussyp : Overall, more subjects (90 %) chose a lot for almonds and macadamias that corresponds to at least 80 % of the recommendation, while this was only 78.3 % for hazelnuts, 72.9 % for walnuts and 71.7 % for cashew nuts.

transparency

This research received no third -party funds.

effects and restrictions in practice

Current guidelines for consumption of nuts in many countries recommend consumption of 28 to 30 g nuts, which corresponds to about 1 ounce. ^{1 But many people may not be familiar with how 1 ounce of nuts look. In the attempt to determine useful, practical and accurate formulations for recommendations, this study weighed the nutshine that result from several of the common terms used for the recommendation of consumption of nuts. The results of this study suggest that the use of the term "one handful" of the 5 terms was the most reliable and useful way to get the majority of the test subjects to consume at least 80 % of the recommended 30 g/day.}

The study found a few other results because it also relates to gender -specific differences and the nut type. For example, if nuts were combined, for "large handful", "handful" and "usual portion", those who met at least 80 % of the recommendation were 3, 9 and 15 percentage points higher in men than in women. The investigators also found numerical differences according to Nussart. When they were asked to take a "handful", 90 % of the participants chose a lot that met at least 80 % of the recommendation for almonds and macadamias, while this was only 78.3 % or 72.9 % for hazelnuts and walnuts. For the estimated "30 g portion", 53.3 % quantities that meet at least 80 % of the recommendation for almonds compared with 71.7 % of the participants for cashew nuts.

But many people may not be familiar with how 1 ounce of nuts look. ”

The authors identified a number of restrictions that should be taken into account when interpreting the results. First, you did not measure the hand size of people and therefore cannot draw any conclusions about the relationship between portion size and hand size. They also point out that "the sample was not representative of the New Zealand population, with a higher percentage of women and mostly Caucasians and Asians". They do not measure the physical level of activity for each individual and used instead the value for easy activity as a conservative estimate of the energy requirement.

Ultimately, a "handful" meant that a high proportion of people consumed at least 80 % of the 30 g/day nuts for good health. This study showed that “a handful” is actually a useful and practical means to recommend the right portion size for the daily consumption of nuts.