green tea and body weight
Body weight loss and weight maintenance in relation to habitual caffeine intake and green tea supplementation
WESTERTERP-PLANTENGA, MARGRIET S.,MANUELA P.G.M. LEJEUNE, AND EVA M. R. KOVACS. Obes Res. 2005;13:1195–1204.
Abstract: Investigation of the effect of a green tea-caffeine mixture on weight maintenance after body weight loss in moderately obese subjects in relation to habitual caffeine intake.Research Methods and Procedures: A randomized placebo- controlled double blind parallel trial in 76 overweight and moderately obese subjects, (BMI, 27.5 _ 2.7 kg/m2) matched for sex, age, BMI, height, body mass, and habitual caffeine intake was conducted. A very low energy diet intervention during 4 weeks was followed by 3 months of weight maintenance (WM); during the WM period, the subjects received a green tea-caffeine mixture (270 mg epigallocatechin gallate _ 150 mg caffeine per day) or placebo. Results: Subjects lost 5.9 _1.8 (SD) kg (7.0 _ 2.1%) of body weight (p _ 0.001). At baseline, satiety was positively,and in women, leptin was inversely, related to subjects’ habitual caffeine consumption (p _ 0.01). High caffeine consumers reduced weight, fat mass, and waist circumference more than low caffeine consumers; resting energy expenditure was reduced less and respiratory quotient was reduced more during weight loss (p _ 0.01). In the low caffeine consumers, during WM, green tea still reduced body weight, waist, respiratory quotient and body fat,whereas resting energy expenditure was increased compared with a restoration of these variables with placebo (p _0.01). In the high caffeine consumers, no effects of the green tea-caffeine mixture were observed during WM. Discussion: High caffeine intake was associated with weight loss through thermogenesis and fat oxidation and with suppressed leptin in women. In habitual low caffeine consumers, the green tea-caffeine mixture improved WM, partly through thermogenesis and fat oxidation.
“Regular consumption of green tea provides a thermogenic affect for weight loss and weight maintenance. A highlight from this study is the evidence of the use of EGCG as a thermogenic aid. A thermogenic aid is something that wastes energy in the form of heat, instead of producing energy for the body. The key to long term success with body weight is having a plan to maintain the progress we make through diet and exercise!” - Josh Smith







