DOES APPLE CIDER VINEGAR HELP IN WEIGHT LOSS?

Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss

In the last 1-2 years, apple cider vinegar has gained tremendous popularity because of its association with weight loss. “I lost 10kg in a month with ACV”, “Drink ACV to reduce weight in a week,” “best supplement to reduce fat,” and so on. If you search for apple cider vinegar on YouTube, you will probably see one or all of the abovementioned videos. Apple cider vinegar is not new; we have been using it since ancient times, but we have never used it for weight loss. Based on some animal-based studies and just one or two poorly conducted human studies, people started believing in the benefits of apple cider vinegar for weight loss. Some of these studies are mentioned below-

1. A small study conducted in 2018 found that consuming vinegar did help in fat loss, but the weight loss reduction was minimal. This study was conducted on 155 obese people who were untrained and were on a calorie-restricted diet (250-calorie deficit per day). These 155 participants were divided into 2 groups- group one had 15 ml of ACV with lunch and dinner every day, and the other did not have ACV during those 12 weeks of study. Remember, both groups were on a calorie-restricted diet that was a 250-calorie deficit daily. After 12 weeks of study, researchers found that the group that had ACV with meals on average lost 4kg of body weight, and the group that did not drink ACV had a 2.3 kg reduction in their body weight over the 12-week study period.

Whether it is a manufacturing company or a social media influencer trying to sell you apple cider vinegar, it references the above research study. But if you read this study carefully, which most people don’t do, you will see many limitations this study has. They are as follows-

• First, this study was conducted on obese and untrained people, so we can not predict with certainty that ACV will have the same impact on healthy and trained people in terms of body composition.  
• Secondly, both groups were given nutritional advice, but there was no control over their food choices. And more importantly, they were self-reporting their food intake, which could be more or less from their actual intake by a significant margin. There is a possibility that the group that had ACV with meals was also consciously making good food choices compared to the other group. So we do not know whether the higher weight loss reduction in the ACV group was actually due to ACV or healthy food choices. 
• Last but not least, the difference in weight loss was only 1.7kg between the groups. The ACV group lost only 1.7 kg more than the other group, which did not receive ACV, over 12 weeks. Consider this for a moment: 1.7kg in just 3 months. You can quickly lose this body weight by walking 5 minutes extra each day or drinking a black coffee 3-4 times per week.  So why waste money on this useless thing? 

2. Another trial conducted in 2009 in Japan tested 175 obese adults who took either one or two tablespoons of vinegar daily for 12 weeks. Even after regular use, participants lost only about 4 pounds (roughly 1.8 kg). Researchers noted small reductions in body fat and triglycerides but concluded that the effect was modest and not significant for long-term fat loss.

The Controversial 2024 Study

In 2024, a new study went viral claiming that drinking apple cider vinegar caused rapid fat loss — around 7 kg (15 lb) in 12 weeks — with no changes to diet or exercise. The participants were mostly young adults between 12 and 25 years old, and the study claimed the results were comparable to prescription weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.

This sounded too good to be true, and it was. The research was later retracted in 2025 after reviewers found multiple data inconsistencies and methodological errors. In short, the extreme results were not reliable. Yet, even after being pulled back, the study continues to circulate online, misleading people into thinking ACV is a miracle solution.