Effects of Long-term Ingestion of Tea Catechins on Visceral Fat Accumulation and Metabolic Syndrome Risk in Women with Abdominal Obesity

BACKGROUND: Visceral fat accumulation is thought to be an upstream factor of several metabolic disorders. Long-term ingestion of high dose green tea catechins was reported to reduce visceral fat. Objective We investigated the effect of long-term ingestion of beverage containing high dose green tea catechins for 12 weeks on the visceral fat and relating metabolic disorders in overweight/obese Japanese female whose visceral fat area was greater than 85 cm2. METHODS: Double-blind placebo controlled parallel trial was conducted. Subjects were recruited on the basis of visceral fat area measured by computer tomography and ingested 540 mg/500 mL catechin-containing beverage or placebo for 12 weeks. RESULTS: Significant decrease was observed in body weight, body mass index and waist circumference. Visceral fat area also decreased significantly in catechin group. Among the risk factors, systolic blood pressure and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was decreased significantly only in catechin group. CONCLUSION: Long-term ingestion of high dose catechin improved not only visceral fat accumulation but also some metabolic disorder and may be beneficial for the management of body fat and metabolic syndrome.