Did you know that you can help your kids establish and maintain a healthy weight by incorporating peanuts and peanut butter into their snacking routine?

A new study shows that high risk adolescents who consistently consumed a daily snack of peanuts or peanut butter significantly decreased their Body Mass Index (BMI) over a six-month period.

The study, “Benefits of a snacking intervention as part of a school-based obesity intervention for Mexican American children”, was published in the Journal of Applied Research on Children. 

The six month, randomized study followed a large group of 257 Latino adolescents who were overweight and obese. Despite being at very high risk, the children who ate peanuts and peanut butter snacks more than four times a week showed better results than those that ate them less than once a week or not at all.

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Health Benefits of Peanuts and Peanut Butter

Peanuts have more protein than any other nut and are rich in healthy oils, fiber, many important vitamins, minerals, and phyto-nutrients. This powerful package not only can help to prevent obesity, but has been shown to help prevent the development of many chronic diseases.

According to USDA, about one quarter or more of daily calories comes from snacks, about the same as calories from lunch. Therefore, it is important to make sure those calories reduce hunger and provide essential nutrients to maintain a healthy weight.

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“What If My Child is Allergic?”

If you kids have peanut allergies, don’t worry. According to the new USDA standards, there are other snack recommendations that are low in empty calories, including light popcorn, low-fat tortilla chips, fruit cups and pouches, and more.

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Getting kids on board with healthy snacking can sometimes be a challenge (trust me, I know firsthand). The key is finding satisfying, hunger-reducing snack options that can be easily stocked to grab at home or on the go in order to help kids maintain a healthy weight.

 

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For more information, including the full USDA standards list, visit www.peanut-institute.org and www.peanutpower.org.