Weight Management Plan in New Year 2021

A recent report from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics shows 14% more Americans say they are on a special diet to lose weight or for other health-related reasons compared to a decade ago. During this same time, obesity rates have risen to 42%, up from 34%.

Add to these statistics more data: survey results from UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas that were presented at The Obesity Society 2020 annual meeting in early November showed seven in 10 people had difficulty reaching their weight-loss goals and 61% engaged in stress eating during COVID-19 lockdowns earlier in the year. 

On the flip side of this not-so-encouraging news is a little good news: people are aware of the health issues associated with being overweight and more seem to want to manage their weight than in the past. That offers you the opportunity to meet them where they are to help them begin their health journey.  That’s especially true now during COVID, when everything seems more challenging than it used to be, and people need more encouragement and guidance than ever before. Maybe you can offer ideas for filling, calorie-managed snacks on your Facebook Live segments, host a virtual shopping tour of your store, run an educational webinar online for shoppers focused on weight-wise foods or provide tips on simple recipe swaps that curb calories without curbing taste.  Read on for more ideas to promote healthy weight management to your shoppers!

Talking Points:  The Weigh to Go

Use these talking points for virtual store events or in your media appearances as a starter for talking weight management:

• The New Year is a new start on health for many of us. And weight management is often at the top of the list of resolutions.
• People choose all types of diets and strategies to lose weight.
• No matter how you choose to do it, the key to lasting weight management is making changes to your diet that you can stick with long-term, not just for a few weeks. Believe it or not, it’s easier to lose weight than it is to keep it off.
• Figure out what works for you and visit a registered dietitian to learn how. You don’t have to give up all the foods you love, but you need to be mindful of portions.
• Many people like to snack on nuts and almonds are a particular favorite. Here’s an easy  tip to remember how many almonds equals a serving. Just think 1-2-3: a serving of almond is 1 ounce which is 23 almonds. So, 1-2-3!
• With their light, buttery flavor and satisfying crunch, it almost feels like a bonus that almonds help stave off hunger and offer that “full” feeling we all want from a snack.
• Almonds provide 4 grams of filling fiber, “good” monounsaturated fats and 6 grams of protein that provide both energy and lasting satisfaction. 
• Almonds are considered a good fit with many popular weight-loss plans because they provide stellar satiety and a great nutrition bang for the calorie buck.

COPY THAT: Newsletter/Circular Copy

Include this tip in your store blog, newsletter or circular:

Find yourself checking out your cupboard or pantry more than usual for a snack during this pandemic? Try these tips for smart snacking:

• Plan out your snacks, just as you plan your meals.
• Select snacks that offer the trifecta of nutrients to satisfy hunger - protein, fiber and healthy fats – as well as terrific taste. Examples: apple slices with a smear of almond butter, trail mix of almonds, dark chocolate chips and dried cherries, Greek yogurt with raspberries, sliced almonds and a drizzle of honey.

Talk to a registered dietitian to learn about other ways you can make changes to your diet that last. <add info on how to schedule telehealth visits with store dietitians if available in your stores>

RESEARCH UPDATE: Does Eating Nuts Lead to Weight Gain, With or Without Guidance?

Results from a recent systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that that nuts, including almonds, may be consumed even in large quantities without changes in body weight or body composition, whether or not dietary substitution instructions are provided.¹

While a number of clinical studies, including several on almonds, and meta-analytic reviews report that eating nuts will not cause weight gain, none considered the effect of varying dietary substitution instructions. Researchers at the University of Georgia were interested in determining if instructions provided on how to incorporate nuts into the diet might affect weight outcomes. They hypothesized that studies without substitution instructions would result in a significant increase in body weight, BMI, waist circumference (WC) and total body fat percentage (BF%), while studies that included calorie or fat substitution instructions would not result in these same increases.

Clinical trials using parallel or crossover design involving the daily consumption of nuts or nut-based snacks/meals by adults 18 years of age and older that ran for more than three weeks and reported on BW, BMI,  WC, or BF% were reviewed. Each study was categorized by whether or not it contained dietary substitution instructions. In total, 55 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The researchers found that:

• In studies without dietary substitution instructions, there was no change in BW or BF%.
• In studies with dietary substitution instructions, there was no change in BW but there was a decrease in BF%. However, the BF% results should be interpreted with caution since only 5 studies were included in analysis that involved substitution instructions that reported BF%. Additionally, a variety of methods were used to measure BF% so the variability in precision and accuracy among these different measurement methods for body composition should be considered in interpretation of study results.
• There was no change in BMI or WC for either category of studies.

Limitations of this research included varying methodologies between included studies and the frequency of unreported outcome variables in excluded studies. A variety of nuts and dosages of nuts were used in the studies included in the meta-analysis. Click here to view the full study.

Resources to the Rescue

We have what you need to help your shoppers learn more about making weight-wise food choices with our Achieving a Happy and Healthy Weight handout and our How Almonds Fit into Multiple Dietary Patterns. 

FNCE Thank You

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth at FNCE to say hello and check out all of our offerings. We loved seeing you! If you missed us, be sure to check out our handouts that you can download for use with your shoppers, and check out our Diet and Skin Health webinar (providing 1 hour CPE).  Reminder that our booth – like all of FNCE – is still open until June 2021 so you can still stop by and check us out if you registered for the meeting.

For those who couldn’t make it to FNCE, we have a very limited number of tins still available for giveaway. Click here to order. Please note that we can only send one tin per person and to US addresses only. If you are holding an event and would like additional tins to share with shoppers, please contact Kerry at almondboardnutrition@porternovelli.com and we’ll do our best to accommodate your needs.