UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.—For mice at least, green tea appears to have some impact on weight gain. In a new study from Penn State food scientists, obese mice on a high-fat diet who were also fed a green-tea compound gained weight more slowly than mice who did not receive the green tea supplement.
Specifically, mice that were fed Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a compound found in most green teas, along with a high-fat diet, gained weight 45 percent more slowly than the control group of mice eating the same diet without EGCG. In addition to slower weight gain, the mice fed the green tea supplement showed a nearly 30 percent increase in fecal lipids, suggesting that the EGCG was limiting fat absorption
"There seems to be two prongs to this," said Joshua Lambert, assistant professor of food science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. "First, EGCG reduces the ability to absorb fat and, second, it enhances the ability to use fat."
A person would need to drink ten cups of green tea each day to match the amount of EGCG used in the study, but recent studies indicate that just drinking a few cups of green tea may help control weight.
"Our results suggest that if you supplement with EGCG or green tea you gain weight more slowly," said Lambert. "Human data—and there's not a lot at this point—shows that tea drinkers who only consume one or more cups a day will see effects on body weight compared to nonconsumers."
