Nowadays the number of plans, fads and diets are so large that it is easy to understand why people have become confused.

But there may be help clearing up the confusion in the shape of green tea. It seems drinking the tea is fast becoming popular and with some justification. Green tea apparently stops you gaining weight and limits fat absorption.

The magic chemical is Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or ECGC, which seemingly slows down any weight gain, although the results of studies so far have been rather mixed.

The research itself has only been trialled on mice. Two groups of obese mice were fed a high fat diet, with one of the groups also having the diet supplemented with green tea. The latter group of mice while still gaining weight did so only half as fast as the control group.

What’s more, when the faeces of the mice were examined it was found that the green tea group also excreted greater quantities of lipids than the non green tea group. Scientists believe this indicates that green tea, more specifically ECGC limits the amount of fat absorbed into the body.

If these results are extrapolated onto human beings, then drinking tea could be a very useful tool in the armoury of those who wish to lose weight. However, there are 2 problems. First, green tea doesn’t reduce weight – it simply stops you absorbing fat too quickly. Second, scientists say that a person would have to consume around 10 cups of green tea every day for similar effects found in the mice to become apparent in humans.

Nevertheless, despite these reservations, the research does seem to be a promising addition to data trying to find the magic weight loss bullet.

This news also comes at a great time for those struggling with the frequently used method of losing weight – the transtheoretical model stages of change (TTM SOC) method.

This particular method is a step-by-step approach, with people persuaded to move from unhealthy habits to more healthy behaviours.

According to Nik Tuah at Imperial College London: “The use of TTM SOC only resulted in 2kg or less weight loss, and there was no conclusive evidence that this loss was sustained.”