If you’re trying to control your weight, don’t look to caffeine for help.
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Caffeine is not an effective appetite suppressant or weight-loss aid, researchers report in a small, new study.
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The study involved 50 healthy adults, aged 18 to 50. The researchers found that after the volunteers drank some juice with a small amount of caffeine added (equivalent to caffeine in about 4 ounces of coffee), they ate 10 percent less (70 fewer calories) at a breakfast buffet than after they had no caffeine.
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However, this reduction in eating did not continue throughout the day, and the participants ate more later in the day to make up for the lighter eating at breakfast.
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The researchers also found that caffeine did not affect how the participants perceived their appetites, and that body mass index (BMI – an estimate of body fat based on height and weight) had no effect on how caffeine affected appetite or how much people ate.
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The study was published recently in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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“Caffeine is frequently added to dietary supplements with claims that it suppresses appetite and facilitates weight loss,” said lead investigator Leah Panek-Shirley. She’s an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo’s department of exercise and nutrition sciences.
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“Previous research has speculated that caffeine speeds metabolism or affects brain chemicals that suppress appetite. In addition, epidemiological evidence suggests that regular caffeine consumers have a lower body mass index [BMI] than non-consumers,” Panek-Shirley said in a journal news release.
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Study co-author Carol DeNysschen is chair of the department of health, nutrition and dietetics at SUNY Buffalo. “This study … reinforces the importance of good eating habits and not relying on unsupported weight-loss aids or unhealthy practices,” she said.
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SOURCE: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics news release, July 2018
HealthDay®
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