You may have heard rumors about caffeine helping weight loss. Certainly many over-the-counter diet pills contain caffeine, which suggests that it may assist weight loss in some way. Can caffeine really help you lose weight, and if so, how?
How does caffeine help you lose weight?Caffeine seems to help suppress the appetite, which makes you eat less. However, there isn’t any research to suggest that appetite suppression is a long-term effect of continued caffeine consumption. In addition to making you feel less hungry for a little while, caffeine may also help you burn a few extra calories by promoting thermogenesis, one way your body generates heat and energy from digesting food. But thermogenesis plays such a small role in how many calories your body burns that it’s unlikely to make a significant impact on your weight loss. Finally, caffeine may also contribute to short-term weight loss because it acts as a diuretic, which means it increases your urine output. However, while this water loss may temporarily lower your weight, it will typically come back as soon as you rehydrate. The bottom line is that caffeine may help you lose a few pounds temporarily, but it hasn’t been proven to cause a significant amount of long-term weight loss in humans. In addition, caffeine can cause side effects such as nervousness and insomnia that may outweigh the benefit of slight weight loss. |
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