Loma Linda University in Southern California is looking for people to eat avocados as part of a study about belly fat.
In addition to free avocados for six months, researchers will pay participants $300 each.
The study will examine whether eating one avocado per day helps reduce belly fat.
Researchers are looking for 250 people to join the study. The chosen participants will be divided into two groups. The test group will be required to eat one avocado per day throughout the study. The control group will be required to eat no more than two avocados per month during the same time period. (At the end of the study, the people in the control group will receive 24 avocados to enjoy as they wish.)
Study participants must:
- Be 25 years of age or older
- Be willing to either eat one avocado per day for six months or eat only two avocados per month for the same period
- Measure at least 40 inches around the waist if they are male
- Measure at least 35 inches around the waist if they are female
Participants will be given a free MRI and health screening and asked to attend a monthly meeting with a dietician.
Penn State University, Tufts University, and UCLA are also participating in the study and recruiting their own participants. Wake Forest University of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will analyze the data once it’s collected.
The study is funded by the Hass Avocado Board, but researchers say that will not affect the findings.
To enroll in the study, visit www.HATstudy.org.
