Can Green Tea Help You Lose Weight?

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.

Updated Mar 18, 2019 by

Josh Burnett

Josh is the chief news editor and writer for So Nourished and Tasteaholics. Based in the Eugene, Oregon area, he has a diverse and varied background as an Air Force officer, structural firefighter, professor, construction worker, retail manager, investigator, and writer. When he isn't writing, he's normally reading or enjoying the outdoors.

Diet, News

Photo by Tom Sharrow/SoNourished.com

When it comes to seemingly “magical” weight loss fads, no product or food will ever beat the hype that has been built up around the illustrious green tea. The once humble hot beverage has been recently touted as a weight-loss and health superstar, with claims ranging from faster weight loss, an increased metabolism, and even the prevention of certain types of cancers. But are these claims based in science, or just fiction? Read on to learn the truth about green tea and how much it can really help you in your weight-loss journey.

Green tea and your metabolism

One of the biggest benefits of green tea when it comes to weight-loss is the tea's high level of potent antioxidants called catechins. One of the catechins in green tea is EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), which has been found to boost the speed at which calories are burned in the body.¹ Green tea also contains caffeine (though much less than the average cup of coffee), a substance which has been found to aid fat burning and improve the calories burned when exercising.²

Green tea and your fat intake

Though anecdotal accounts claim that green tea has the potential to act as an appetite suppressant, studies on this property have been largely inconclusive.³ However, EGCG has been found to reduce the amount of fat absorbed from food, though conclusive studies have only been conducted on animals.⁴ While it may be possible that green tea is able to affect the “calories in” portion of the weight loss equation, current research suggests that the main benefits of green tea lies in the “calories out” portion.

Green tea and resting calorie burn

Whether you're walking, running, lifting weights, sleeping, or lounging on the couch watching television, your body is always burning calories to keep you alive. Some studies have shown that green tea has the potential to boost the number of calories that you burn, even when resting. However, it's important to note that these changes in calorie burn are relatively small, and most studies found that taking green tea supplements has the potential to increase calorie burn by about 3-4 percent of total calorie intake per day.⁵

Drinking green tea or taking green tea supplements may be particularly beneficial for individuals who are severely overweight or obese because of this. In one study that followed 60 obese participants, taking green tea extract allowed the subjects to burn an average of 183 extra calories per day. This extra calorie burn caused participants to lose an average of 7.3 pounds over the course of three months.⁶

The bottom line? While research supports the idea that green tea can be an asset when it comes to losing weight, it's not the fat-burning miracle product that some websites make it out to be. You'll still need to be living a healthy lifestyle or following a weight-loss focused diet like the ketogenic diet to see the pounds fall off the scale. However, if you enjoy the taste of green tea, evidence shows that consuming a few cups might actually be helpful in achieving your weight-loss goals. Just remember to skip the honey and sugar!

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Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD

This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD.