Article

Anti-Obesity Effects of Tea

Anti-Obesity Effects of TeaObesity has increased at an alarming rate in recent years and it is now worldwide health problem. Long-term consumption (11 months) of tea catechins was found beneficial for the suppression of diet-induced obesity in mice, and it also reduce the risk associated diseases including diabetes and coronary heart disease. Green tea extract rich in polyphenols have thermogenic properties and promote fat oxidation. It has been observed in a study that healthy young men who took two green tea capsules (containing 50 mg of caffeine and 90 mg of EGCG) three times a day had a significantly greater energy expenditure and fat oxidation than those who took caffeine alone or placebo. Green tea extract thus seems to have the potential to influence body weight, although controlled trials on weight loss in humans are needed to further explore these preliminary observations. The stimulation of hepatic lipid metabolism might be a factor for the anti-obesity effects of tea catechins. In Japan, anti-obesity effect of oolong tea was reported in high-fat diet-treated mice and caffeine was found to enhance nonadrenaline induced lipolysis through acting of lipid droplets. The pancreatic lipase activity was also seen to be inhibited by the tea extract. The effect may have broader implication because obesity increases the risks for cancer and cardiovascular disease. It is also reported that green tea and caffeine have thermogenic properties, promote fat oxidation and play a role in the control of body composition probably via sympathetic activation of thermogenesis that can reduce obesity. Caffeine and oolong teas can enhance nonadrenaline-induced lipolysis in fat cells, preventing obesity and fatty liver, and inhibit pancreatic lipase activity in obese mice induced by a high-fat diet. The impact of oolong tea on energy expenditure (EE) of humans have been measured in China and it has been seen that EE was significantly increased 2.9 and 3.4% for the full strength tea (daily allotment brewed from 15 g of tea) and caffeinated water treatment (water containing 270 mg caffeine) respectively. Fat oxidation was seen to be significantly higher (12%) when subjects consumed full strength tea rather than water.