This precarious positioning puts you at risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

For the study, the body fat reducing effect and reduction of risks for cardiovascular disease by a green tea extract high in catechins was investigated in humans with typical lifestyles.

A 12-week double-blind trial was performed, in which the subjects ingested green tea containing 583 mg of catechins (catechin group) or 96 mg of catechins (control group) per day.

Decreases in visceral fat area and subcutaneous fat area were found to be greater in the catechin group than in the control group.

Greater decreases in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and LDL cholesterol were found in the catechin group compared with the control group

LDL cholesterol and high blood pressure are precursors to heart disease that often come hand in hand with visceral fat build-up

A lot of studies into green tea use green tea extract, which is more potent than a cup of brewed green tea

"That’s not to say you can’t match the content of green tea extract with the drink, you’ll just have to drink more," notes Holland and Barrett