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Long
Term Green Tea Consumption And Body Fat
Author: ©Marcus Stout
Many
people find that they gain weight as they get older. It seems
to be a fact of life for many of us; as we age we put on a few
pounds. It's no secret that our metabolism starts to slow down
as we age; even as early as age 30. However, there does seem to
be a simple secret weapon that can prevent the pounds from creeping
on as we get older.
It's
no secret that Asian countries have far lower incidences of overweight
and obesity than most other parts of the world. And, even as they
age, Asians don't seem to put on the age related pounds that plague
many cultures. And, of course, it's no secret that Asians drink
large amounts of green tea.
And,
there seems to be a connection between these two facts. Green
tea has been reported to have many health benefits, including
preventing disease and weight gain. Green tea consumption has
been shown to reduce the risk of many forms of cancer, lower cholesterol
levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. Green tea has also
been shown to help regulate insulin, which may help prevent or
control diabetes.
Other
studies have shown that green tea can help with weight loss, as
it seems to speed the metabolism and promote fat loss. Green tea
seems to have a unique ability to promote thermogenesis, or fat
burning.
For
these reasons, it seems that being a lifelong green tea drinker
may mean that you have less chance of putting on a few pounds
each year as you get older. In addition to the abundant anecdotal
evidence available by comparing the statistics on obesity in Asian
countries to that of European and North American countries, there
is also quite a bit of research to back up the theory that drinking
green tea regularly over a period of years may lead to lower weight
and less body fat.
One
particularly interesting study on this subject was conducted by
the Department of Family Medicine, National Cheng Kung University
Hospital in Taiwan. This study looked at over 1200 subjects, both
male and female. They compared the tea drinking habits of the
participants and evaluated their percentage of body fat and body
fat distribution based on waist to hip ratios.
Waist
to hip ratios are important because we know that fat carried around
the hips and waist are more likely to lead to heart disease than
fat carried on other places on the body.
The
study concluded that tea drinkers were less likely to have an
unhealthy percentage of body fat, and were more likely to have
positive waist to hip ratios. In fact, those participants who
had been tea drinkers for more than 10 years showed an average
of 19% less body fat and a waist to hip ratio of 2.1% less than
that of non-habitual tea drinkers.
But
even those participants who had been habitual tea drinkers for
just six months showed improved statistics over those participants
who were not habitual tea drinkers.
This
study denoted several factors that appeared to have either positive
or negative effect on a person's body fat percentage and body
fat distribution. The factors they rated were as follows:
Smoking
– Smoking was associated with higher body fat and higher
waist to hip ratio.
Age
– Older Age was associated with higher body fat and higher
waist to hip ratio.
Body
Mass Index – Higher body mass index was associated with higher
body fat and a higher hip to waist ratio.
Pre/post
menopausal – Pre-menopausal women were more likely to have
a lower percentage of body fat and a lower waist to hip ratio
than post menopausal women.
Habitual
Tea Drinking – Habitual tea drinkers had lower waist to hip
ratios and lower percentages of body fat.
Physical
Exercise – Those who exercised regularly had lower percentages
of body fat and lower waist to hip ratios.
So,
as you can see, there are several lifestyle factors that affect
whether or not your weight creeps up as you age. Of course, age
itself is a factor we can't control, as is going through menopause.
However,
what we can learn from this study is that getting regular exercise,
refraining from smoking and drinking tea regularly throughout
your life can help you avoid gaining weight as you get older.
Adding
green tea to your diet is a simple way to help protect your health
and prevent weight gain. As more and more research has revealed
green tea's health benefits, it has become easier to find. Today,
green tea can be found in loose or bag form for brewing at home
and bottled form for those who want convenient chilled green tea.
Even
those trendy coffee houses now offer a green tea selection on
your menu. And, if you can't get enough of a dose of green tea
by drinking it, there are green tea supplements on the market
that carry the anti-oxidants of green tea in pill form. But, no
matter how you choose to get your dose of green tea, just be sure
you get it!
| About
the Author: Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon
Tea Company. For more information about tea, green tea and
black tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com |
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