Almond intake and body weight across 28 trials in adults
What it found
Eating almonds led to small drops in body weight and body fat across 28 trials in adults.
It made no clear difference to waist size or muscle mass.
What they found
Studies in people
Body weight
People who ate almonds lost a small amount of weight compared with those who did not. The average drop was 0.38 kg.
Body fat
Almond intake was linked to a small reduction in body fat. On average, people lost 0.58 kg of fat mass.
Waist size and BMI
Eating almonds did not clearly change waist size or body mass index. The differences between groups were too small to be certain.
Muscle mass
Almonds did not appear to affect muscle mass. Changes in fat-free mass were about the same in both groups.
What the authors conclude
- They found that eating almonds reduced body weight and body fat in adults, but did not change waist size or muscle mass.
- They say more studies are needed to confirm these findings.
How it was done
The authors wanted to gather all the trial evidence on how eating almonds changes body measurements in adults.
They combined results from 28 randomised controlled trials involving adults. They looked at how almond intake changed body weight, body mass index, waist size, fat mass, and muscle mass.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These trials measured specific body sizes over set periods. They cannot show what happens if someone eats almonds for many years.
- Combining many trials together can hide differences between individual studies, such as how much almond people actually ate.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Iran
The paper
- Title
- The effect of almond intake on anthropometric indices: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Type
- Systematic review and meta-analysisThe authors follow a set, published method to find every relevant study, then combine the numbers from them into one result.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Eslampour E, Moodi V, Asbaghi O, et al (2020). The effect of almond intake on anthropometric indices: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Food & function. doi:10.1039/d0fo00470gPubMed 32857083DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error