A research team engaged in a U.S. study examined effects on energy balance and appetite when peanuts were regularly consumed. Peanuts were made available, on a daily basis, to 15 subjects aged between 24 and 42 years, all of whom were of a normal weight and were healthy. In the first eight weeks of the study, no further nutritional advice was dispensed. Thereafter, the participants were to eat peanuts in addition to their usual diet for a period of three weeks. Over eight further weeks, peanuts replaced a portion of the dietary fat obtained from other sources in the subjects' food plan.

The evaluation showed that the participants in the first nutritional phase ate a large number of peanuts and, overall, assimilated more energy than prior to the study. The increase in weight remained at an average of 1 kilogram per participant within the eight-week period, but was significantly lower than expected. In the second eight weeks – when peanuts replaced a portion of the usual diet – the subjects' energy intake and body weight did not change.

In 2014, Australian scientists also established that peanuts evince a significantly higher level of satiety in comparison with other snack products. Conclusion: With their high protein and fibre content, a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids and a host of minerals, peanuts are a valuable dietary component. Despite a high level of energy density, they offer a high degree of satiety. Thus, other high-energy foodstuffs – which have fewer valuable constituents – are easy to replace with peanuts, without the appetite for them diminishing, even when frequently consumed.

Sources:

Alper C.M. et al.: Effects of chronic peanut consumption on energy balance and hedonics. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, Aug 2002 (1129-37)

Barbour J.A. et al.: Lower energy intake following consumption of Hi-oleic and regular peanuts compared with iso-energetic consumption of potato crisps. Appetite, Nov 2014 (82:124-30)