Green Tea & Fat Loss??

Green Tea Extract & FAT LOSS:

“Green tea extract at a daily dose of greater than 540 milligrams of catechins and 270-450 milligrams of caffeine over the course of 12 weeks was INEFFECTIVE in producing body weight or body fat loss, or changes in resting energy expenditure, fat or carbohydrate oxidation in Caucasian subjects who were on average in their late 20s and of mostly normal weight. 

…This study doesn’t rule out an effect in older overweight and obese Caucasian populations, but based on previous research, the effect size is relatively small and unreliable.

…There is very limited evidence of any long-term benefit of green tea extract with caffeine on body weight or body fat in Caucasians. There are statistically significant, yet relatively minor, benefits in Asians. Being a non-regular consumer of caffeine appears to be important in moderating these effects. Those who don’t regularly con- sume caffeine and then started consuming green tea extract along with caffeine would be more likely to see a benefit than regular caffeine consumers.”

“Why would green tea extract cause weight loss in Asians but not in Caucasians?

There are several possible explanations for these differences, including the fact that Asians have a higher body fat per- centage than Caucasians at the same BMI. Asians also exhibit a higher frequency of a polymorphism of the COMT gene, which increases COMT activity. Thus, inhibition of COMT by green tea extract would be expected to produce larger changes in energy expenditure and weight loss in people with higher activity COMT.”

– ERD Issue 8