Timing of almond intake during a day may result differently in the perspectives of body composition and changes of lipid profile. The current study was conducted to compare the effects of daily almond intake as a preload versus as a snack on body composition, blood lipid profile, and oxidative and inflammation indicators among young Korean adults aged 20–39 years old.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a pre-meal almond group (PM), a snack almond group (SN) in which participants were instructed to consume 56 g of almonds either as a preload before meals or as a snack between meals, respectively, and a control group (CL) in which participants were provided high-carbohydrate iso-caloric control food. Measurements were performed at baseline, weeks 8 and 16.

A total of 169 (M 77/F 92) out of the 227 participants completed the study between June 2014 and June 2015 (n = 58 for PM; 55 for SN; and 56 for CL). A significant decrease in body fat mass was observed in the PM group at both weeks 8 and 16 compared with the CL. There were significant intervention effects on changes of body fat mass ( P = 0.025), body fat percentages ( P = 0.019), and visceral fat levels ( P < 0.001). Consuming almonds as a daily snack reduced the levels of total cholesterol ( P = 0.043) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol ( P = 0.011) without changing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol compared with the CL.

Almond consumption as a preload modified body fat percentages, whereas snacking on almonds between meals improved blood lipid profiles. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03014531.