Peanuts and Peanut Butter Satisfy Hunger without Adding Extra Calories

Snacks of peanuts and peanut butter reduced hunger and did not increase total calorie intake. With the peanut and peanut butter snacks, more heart-healthy monounsaturated fat was consumed in the diet. The study findings were announced today at the Experimental Biology annual meeting in San Francisco.

In the study, conducted by researchers at Purdue University and supported by a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant, 24 normal weight adult subjects consumed seven types of snacks – peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, chestnuts, chocolate, pickles and rice cakes. Snacks were matched for calorie levels, volume or weight.

After eating the peanuts and peanut butter snacks, subjects experienced a significantly larger reduction of hunger as compared to the pickle and rice cake snacks, which were matched on weight or volume. More importantly, subjects reported a slower return of hunger after eating the peanut snacks.

Dr. Richard Mattes, Professor, Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University notes that, “A snack of peanuts or peanut butter has a high satiety value and may not promote over consumption of calories.”

The Peanut Institute is a non-profit organization that supports nutrition research and develops educational programs to encourage healthful lifestyles.