Obesity, an excess proportion of total body fat, remains to be a public health challenge throughout the world. An individual with a weight of 20 percent or more above normal weight is considered to be obese.
Worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, of whom at least 300 million are obese. Canada has seen an increase in obesity since the late 1980s. In 2004, as reported by Statistics Canada, approximately 6.8 million Canadian adults aged 20 to 64 were overweight and an additional 4.5 million were obese. More than one in four Canadian adults are obese, according to measured height and weight data from 2007-2009. Of children and youth aged 6 – 17, 8.6 percent are obese.
In an effort to address these issues, people are always looking for healthy ways to become healthy and fit and boost metabolism without the need to extremely and abruptly change diet or exercise. One effective way to lose weight is to reduce the intake of calories. In order to burn a pound of weight, 3,500 calories should be burned more than what one consumes. Other ways are the intake of magical weight loss pills, which, in the long run, may put one’s health at great risk.
With today’s globalization, green tea and conjugated linoleic acids or CLA have been given a lot of research attention because of its potentials in addressing these weight issues. Green tea and CLA are natural ingredients and are making a buzz today because of its ability to help in losing weight, more notably when combined with proper diet and exercise. Studies have showed positive results in the use of green tea and CLA as an agent for weight loss. A study published in the year 2000 in the “Journal of Nutrition” revealed that weight-reducing individuals who rely on CLA have significant loss in body mass compared to those who rely on placebo effects.
Green tea has been around for centuries and it was started to be used as a cure for a variety of ailments. Among all types of tea, green tee provides the most antioxidant polyphenols, which is believed to be responsible for most of the health benefits linked to green tea. In 1994, as published by the “Journal of the National Cancer Institute, green tea proved to reduce the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly 60 percent. Additionally, research indicates that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol. In another study published in 1999 in the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” green tea was found to significantly raise thermogenic properties and fat oxidation, which accordingly increases metabolism and allows the body to burn more calories at rest. Today, green tea is known to be an energy booster and an agent for weight loss.
CLA, often found in beef and dairy products, is a derivative of alpha linoleic acid, which is a form of omega-3 fatty acids. Although the results are equivocal, animal studies and some human research suggest that CLA can decrease body fat mass and body fat percentage while promoting lean body fat mass. In a study led by Sandra Einerhand, Director New Product Development and Nutrition in Tate & Lyle, it was found out that obese or overweight people who took CLA supplements every day for six months lost about three extra pounds as compared to those who took a daily pill containing only olive oil.
When taken together, according to the study made by Dr. Venket Rao and Dr. Kathee Andrews of University of Toronto, green tea and CLA greatly improved the health and fitness of the people involved in the study. The study was conducted for three months and nearly 75 percent of the participants lost weight of did not gain any.
