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Tea drinkers have 20 percent less body fat according to Taiwan study
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Thursday, October 07, 2010 10:00 am Email this article
Tea drinkers have less body fat and a smaller waist-to-hip ratio than non-tea drinkers according to a study from Taiwan. People who have been drinking tea at least once a week or more were found to have 19.6 percent less body fat than non-tea drinkers and have a 2.1 percent lower waist-to-hip ratio than non-tea drinkers. Subjects
Subjects: 569 men, 641 women
The study looked at 569 men and 641 women of which 473 or 42.9 percent were tea drinkers.
Factors associated with an increase in percent body fat and waist-to-hip ratio were being male, older, having a higher body mass index (BMI), and being a current smoker which was a surprise to me.
Factors associated with a decrease in percent body fat and waist-to-hip ratio were longer duration of tea drinking and more physical activity.
Factors associated with a decrease in waist-to-hip ratio were a longer duration of tea drinking, higher socioeconomic status, and women who were young enough to have not yet gone through menopause.
“An inverse relationship may exist among habitual tea consumption, percent body fat, and body fat distribution, especially for subjects who have maintained the habit of tea consumption for more than 10 years,” the authors of the study concluded.
REFERENCE
Wu C-H, Lu F-H, Chang C-S, Chang T-C, Wang R-H, Chang C-J. Relationship among habitual tea consumption, percent body fat, and body fat distribution. Obes Res. 2003 Sep, 11(9):1088-95.
http://www.obesityresearch.org/cgi/content/abstract/11/9/1088
AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION
Chih-Jen Chang
Department of Family Medicine
National Cheng Kung University Hospital
138 Sheng-Li Road, Tainan 70428
Taiwan
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COMMENTS
On Oct 12, 2010 at 4:54 am Nicole Nelson wrote:
. . . . .
Interesting article. I am curious as to why the real differences in body fat is predominant in the group drinking tea for 10 or more years. My question is: If I weren't a tea drinker and I started today, would it take 10 years for me to really see a dramatic fat loss?
On Oct 12, 2010 at 9:17 am Larry Hobbs wrote:
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Nicole,
Unfortunately, I have not seen any studies showing that drinking tea causes weight loss, so I would not expect too much.
It may be better at helping to prevent weight gain than causing weight loss.
This is similar to exercise. It seems to be better at preventing weight gain than causing weight loss.
The Chinese may also drink tea differently than we might.
A woman from Taiwan who used to own a Chinese restaurant down the street from me told me that she always has a pot of tea sitting in the kitchen, and that every time they walk by, they will get a drink like the way we might stop and drink some water.
Drinking small amounts throughout the day might be more effective than simply drinking a pot of tea in the morning, and then another pot of tea in the afternoon.
Drinking small amounts of tea throughout the day is similar to how people smoke. They have a cigarette, then 15-30 minutes later, they have another cigarette, then 15-30 minutes later, another cigarette. And they do this 20-40 times per day. And each time they smoke, there is a small boost in metabolism.
My guess is that these small boosts in metabolism 20-40 times per day are probably more effective than if a person were to smoke 20 cigarettes all at once in the morning, then smoke another 20 cigarettes in the afternoon.
My guess is the same is probably true of drinking tea. That is, drinking small amounts throughout the day is probably more effective than drinking a pot of tea in the morning, and then another pot of tea in the afternoon.
On Oct 12, 2010 at 9:45 am Nicole Nelson wrote:
. . . . .
Larry,
Thanks for the feedback! I think what you're saying definitely makes sense. If I were to drink tea throughout the day I'm sure I'd curb my appetite...problem is that it makes me nauseated on an empty stomach. Anyway, thanks again!
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