Study Overview
A randomized parallel-controlled trial randomized overweight or obese participants into one of two 12-week dietary recommendations to determine whether including one avocado daily in a hypocaloric diet would affect body weight and composition.
Control Diet (n=27):
- Biweekly counseling on hypocaloric diet by RD
- 500 calorie deficit; 30-35% calories from fat, 15-20% from protein and 45-55% from carbs
- Avoid eating avocados
Avocado Diet (n=24):
- Biweekly counseling on hypocaloric diet by RD
- 500 calorie deficit; 30-35% calories from fat, 15-20% from protein and 45-55% from carbs
- Eat one avocado daily
Published: June 2019, Current Developments in Nutrition
Study funded by Hass Avocado Board
Category: Healthy Living at Every Age, Weight Management
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Key Takeaways
Control Diet & Avocado Diet
BOTH successfully reduced body weight, body fat, BMI, and visceral adipose tissue
Study participants that ate an avocado daily as part of a hypocaloric diet self-reported a similar feeling of satiety throughout the study compared to a decrease in satiety reported by participants on the control diet.
Gut microbiota composition changed in response to both diets and composition differed between groups.
Strength of Study:
- A randomized clinical trial (gold standard in science)
- Regular nutrition counseling by registered dietitians to support weight loss.
As in all research, the study has its limitations. The study population size was limited so it is unknown whether the results apply to the general U.S. population.
A whole avocado was consumed daily so the effects of one serving (1/3 avocado, 50 g) on study outcomes is unknown.
The trial was limited in study duration with only 12 weeks of follow-up time. 63 people enrolled in the trial but only 51 completed the study.
Lastly, the regular counseling by registered dietitians in both groups may have negated the effects of satiety on organic weight loss and changes in body composition by the avocado group and collection of dietary data may have better informed interpretation of outcomes. Therefore, results should be interpreted with caution.
Additional long term intervention trials are needed to assess the effect of avocado intake on body weight, BMI, gut microbiota taxonomy and clinical health markers in a larger U.S. representative population.
Reference: 1. Henning, S.M., J. Yang, S.L. Woo, R. Lee, J. Huang, A. Rasmusen, C. Carpenter, G. Thames, I. Gilbuena, C. Tseng, D. Heber, Z. Li. Hass avocado inclusion in a weight loss diet supported weight loss and altered gut microbiota: a 12 week randomized parallel-controlled trial. Current Developments in Nutrition 2019.
