Green tea supplementation is associated with a decrease in body weight and body mass index in obese patients, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Lin et al suggest that the use of green tea can be combined with a balanced and healthy diet and regular physical exercise in the management of obese patients. Image credit: Sci-News.com.
“Green tea is one of the major types of tea (Camelia sinensis) and belongs to the non-fermented tea class,” said corresponding author Dr. Jing Wei from the Department of Endocrinology at Jinan Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and colleagues.
“Among all of the tea types, the most significant effects on human health have been observed with the consumption of green tea.”
“Green tea hailed importance due to its health benefits on obesity, microbiota, cancer, blood pressure, osteoarthritis, hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia, and neurodegenerative diseases.”
“Its health benefits are probably linked to its antioxidant properties, which are related to the high content in polyphenols, mainly catechins and flavonols.”
In their systematic review and meta-analysis, Dr. Wei and co-authors from China, Romania, Turkey, and Brazil searched several databases for clinical trials reporting on the influence of green tea supplements on obesity indices in humans.
The researchers included 26 studies involving a total of 1,344 participants.
“Our results showed that body weight and body mass index significantly changed after green tea administration, specifically for periods longer than 12 weeks and a dosage less than 800 mg/day,” they said.
“Epidemiological studies involving 1,103 subjects have shown that subjects who consumed tea habitually in an average volume of 434 mL/day for 10 years associated a lower percentage of body fat and a lower waist circumference versus than non-obese subjects who drank no tea,” they added.
“However, we believe that a higher decrease of body indices — mostly in anthropometric indices — can be observed in longer periods of intervention with green tea.”
“Although green tea supplementation cannot guarantee a definitive change of body weight and body mass index, we suggest that green tea supplementation can be used as a complimentary measure, together with a balanced and healthy diet and the regular practice of physical exercise, in the therapeutic approach of obese patients,” the authors concluded.
The findings were published in the journal Phytotherapy Research.
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Ying Lin et al. The effect of green tea supplementation on obesity: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Phytotherapy Research, published online May 5, 2020; doi: 10.1002/ptr.6697
