Can apple cider vinegar aid weight loss?

Can a nip of apple cider vinegar a day keep the kilos away?
 
The results of a new clinical trial say their results are promising, revealing patients lost an average of seven kilograms in three months when they drank small quantities of the cupboard staple every day.
 
Published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, the study assigned 120 participants to one of four groups, asked to drink either five, 10, or 15 millilitres of apple cider vinegar (ACV) diluted in water, or a placebo, first thing in the morning for 12 weeks.
 
All participants were overweight or obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of between 27 and 34, and aged 12–25.
 
They were all told to consume their ‘normal diets’ throughout the study, including the 7% who were already following a therapeutic diet.
 
Overall, researchers found those who drank apple cider vinegar once daily lost between six and eight kilograms.
 
For participants who drank five millilitres, their average weight loss was five kilograms, while it was seven kilograms for those drinking 10 and 15 millilitres a day.
 
Vinegar consumption was also linked to falls in serum glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol, with the largest falls among those drinking 15 millilitres.
 
The placebo group lost less than one kilogram on average over the same period.
 
‘These results suggest that ACV might have potential benefits in improving metabolic parameters related to obesity and metabolic disorders in obese individuals,’ the study concluded.
 
‘The results may contribute to evidence-based recommendations for the use of ACV as a dietary intervention in the management of obesity.’
 
But while those initial findings are promising, they have been met with caution by numerous experts who say it cannot be seen as an obesity cure.
 
University of Queensland nutrition and dietetics expert Professor Helen Truby said the study design contains substantial shortcoming in the study that raise doubts about its conclusions.

‘The subjects were not weight stable at the beginning of the study, so may have been on a weight loss journey before they began taking the vinegar,’ she said.
 
‘We cannot be sure that these large weight losses were not due to lifestyle changes, plus the use of weight loss medications has not been reported.

‘It would be wonderful if a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar caused substantial weight loss, but with the complexity of obesity and its management that we grapple with, sometimes if something seems too good to be true – it often is.’
 
The study’s release comes at the same time as Australia grapples with a youth obesity crisis.
 
Currently, more than one quarter of all Australian children and adolescents are overweight or obese, increasing to 38% for Indigenous children.
 
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare described the high rates as a ‘major public health issue’, associating them with poorer health, worse school performance, increased healthcare costs, and an increased risk of obesity in adulthood.
 
However, while youth obesity is a concern, Dr Rosemary Stanton, a nutritionist at the University of New South Wales, said the young age of the participants in the new research represents a shortcoming.
 
‘Some may have still been growing and this would affect their weight,’ she said.
 
‘We have no idea whether some may have been consuming less or changed the amount they were eating during the study.

‘Another concern is that there is no data on dental effects. A number of studies show the erosive effect of vinegar on dental enamel.’
 
The use of ACV as a weight loss aid has garnered increasing attention in recent years, thanks to its social media fame and celebrity endorsement.
 
It has also been touted for its health benefits relating to hair, skin, and its antibacterial properties.
 
But George Institute for Global Health dietitian Dr Daisy Coyle said it remains unlikely that ACV can be hailed a ‘silver bullet for health’.
 
‘While participants kept diet diaries, specific details on calorie and/or macronutrient intake were not reported in the study,’ she said.
 
‘This study was also small with 120 people, short in duration, and only focused on young and overweight individuals. We can’t extrapolate the findings to the broader population or draw conclusions about the long-term efficacy of apple cider vinegar. 
 
‘While apple cider vinegar may offer some short-term health benefits, particularly for young and overweight individuals, it should not be viewed as a solution to Australia’s obesity epidemic.’
 
The study’s authors say its relatively short, 12-week duration limited their ability to observe long-term effects.
 
Moving forward, they said a larger sample size would enhance the generalisability of the results.
 
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