Effects of Catechin Enriched Green Tea on Body Composition

Abstract

Obesity is a major health problem in the developed and developing world. Many “functional” foods and ingredients are advocated for their effects on body composition but few have consistent scientific support for their efficacy. However, an increasing amount of mechanistic and clinical evidence is building for green tea (GT). This experiment was therefore undertaken to study the effects of a high‐catechin GT on body composition in a moderately overweight Chinese population. In a randomized placebo‐controlled trial, 182 moderately overweight Chinese subjects, consumed either two servings of a control drink (C; 30 mg catechins, 10 mg caffeine/day), one serving of the control drink and one serving of an extra high‐catechin GT1 (458 mg catechins, 104 mg caffeine/day), two servings of a high‐catechin GT2 (468 mg catechins, 126 mg caffeine/day) or two servings of the extra high‐catechin GT3 (886 mg catechins, 198 mg caffeine/day) for 90 days. Data were collected at 0, 30, 60, and 90 days. We observed a decrease in estimated intra‐abdominal fat (IAF) area of 5.6 cm2 in the GT3 group. In addition, we found decreases of 1.9 cm in waist circumference and 1.2 kg body weight in the GT3 group vs. C (P < 0.05). We also observed reductions in total body fat (GT2, 0.7 kg, P < 0.05) and body fat % (GT1, 0.6%, P < 0.05). We conclude that consumption of two servings of an extra high‐catechin GT leads to improvements in body composition and reduces abdominal fatness in moderately overweight Chinese subjects.

Effect of Balanced Low Calorie Meal Replacement Formula Diet in the Management of Overweight/Obesity and Metabolic Profile-A Retrospective Clinical Experience Report

“…The ingredients in green tea play a role in increasing energy metabolism, resulting in weight loss [24]. In a randomized controlled study, intake of high catechins green tea (468 mg catechins) by moderately overweight Chinese subjects for a period of 90 days lead to reduction in intra-abdominal fat, waist circumference reduction, reduction in body weight, total body fat and body fat % indicating improvements in body composition and reduction in abdominal fatness [25]. Another 12 week study from Japan among men and women with increased visceral adiposity, consumption of a beverage providing 583 mg/d of tea catechins were associated with significantly greater reductions in body weight, body fat, and abdominal fat mass compared with a control beverage providing 96 mg/d [26].…”

Çay, Obezi̇te Ve Kadin

“…Yeşil çay tüketen grubun glikoz ve demir seviyelerinin kontrol grubundan düşük olduğu, buna rağmen HDL kolesterol ve magnezyum seviyelerinin yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir (42). Yapılan diğer çalışmalarda da yeşil çayın kilo kaybı meydana getirdiği belirlenmiştir (43)(44)(45). Bu çalışmalarda özellikle, 3 aydan daha uzun süreli yeşil çay tüketiminin beden ağırlığını ve yağını azaltmada etkili olduğu vurgusu yapılmıştır (12).…”

Tea and human health: biomedical functions of tea active components and current issues

“…In the 26 human experiments conducted by Hursel et al (2011) and Phung et al (2010), most of the investigations discovered that tea drinking could reduce BW. Wang et al (2010) investigated the influence of tea drinking on the waist circumference, and the results were that for overweight Chinese taking green tea polyphenol (caffeine <200 mg) 458-886 mg/d for 90 d, the body fat could be decreased. A trial involving 132 overweight or obese women over 12 weeks demonstrated a significant reduction in abdominal fat and subcutaneous abdominal fat area in the group that consumed green tea compared with the control group (Maki et al, 2009).…”