- Poor diet quality has been associated with a higher risk of cardiometabolic disease.
- A recent study suggests daily avocado consumption may improve overall diet quality, but the effects on cardiometabolic health were unclear.
- Experts say a varied and balanced diet is the best way to support long-term health and longevity.
In the United States, many adults have poor diet quality and do not meet key dietary recommendations provided by the Dietary Guidelines for AmericansTrusted Source.
With poor diet quality being the leading risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases, this increases the risk for chronic health conditions that are among the leading causesTrusted Source of death.
Finding ways to improve diet quality in the general population is crucial for promoting better health outcomes.
Now, a recent study from Penn State University analyzed the impact of a food-based intervention — daily avocado intake — on diet quality and cardiometabolic risk.
The findings, published in Current Developments in Nutrition, revealed that consuming one avocado daily for 26 weeks improved adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans among adults with abdominal obesity. However, the changes in diet quality did not directly influence cardiometabolic disease risk factors.
In this 26-week, multi-center, randomized controlled trial, researchers studied 1,008 participants aged 25 and older with abdominal obesity and typically low avocado intake.
Participants were divided into two groups. One group was provided with a daily supply of one avocado (approximately 168 grams) and received guidance on how to include it in their daily diet. The other (control) group, was asked to maintain their usual dietary habits, limiting their avocado consumption to two or fewer per month, and received no dietary counseling.
Diet quality was evaluated through unannounced 24-hour recalls at various intervals during the study, and scored with the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015)Trusted Source to measure adherence to dietary guidelines.
As per the USDA’s classification, this clinical trial considered avocado servings — one-half cup chopped or approximately 75 grams — as part of the total vegetable component in the HEI-2015 scores.
The participants’ cardiometabolic disease risk factors, including visceral fat volume, liver fat fraction, C-reactive protein, metabolic syndrome criteria, body weight, body mass index (BMI), insulin, VLDL cholesterol, and the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio, were also monitored to understand the effects of daily avocado consumption on these factors.
During the study, researchers found that individuals who consumed avocados daily showed a “potentially clinically relevant” increase of 4.74 points in their HEI-2015 scores compared to the control group that consumed their regular diet.
This improvement was mainly attributed to an increase in total vegetable intake and a more favorable ratio of unsaturated to saturated fats, both of which were directly related to daily avocado consumption.
In comparison to the control group, individuals who consumed avocados daily did not show any significant difference in their intake of saturated or polyunsaturated fats.
However, their consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) increased by 13 grams per day, which was almost equivalent to the MUFA content of the avocados provided to them (17 grams).
Despite an overall increased adherence to the dietary guidelines with daily avocado consumption, these dietary improvements did not lead to significant changes in cardiometabolic disease risk factors over the 26-week period, the study authors found.
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