Group 1 170.117.9 168.218.2 166.017.8 * 163.117.6 * Group 2 167.213.2 165.213.6 163.013.2 * 154.712.6 * Group 3 165.913.8 163.713.7 161.813.6 * 151.812.0 * Group 4 166.118.2 166.318.0 166.518.3 166.718.1 TC (mg/dL) Group 1 176.013.1 174.213.5 171.913.1 * 170.013.9 * Group 2 175.612.9 173.813.2 171.312.9 * 164.212.8 * Group 3 176.911.1 174.711.7 172.511.1 * 162.211.3*

Group 4 178.511.5 178.811.2 177.811.9 178.611.7 Group 1: daily intake of 5 mL of ACV; group 2: daily intake of 10 mL of ACV; group 3: daily intake of 15 mL of ACV. All values are meanSD. *p<0.05; compared with baseline (week 0). p<0.05; Compared with group 1 within a specific week. p<0.05; Compared with group 2 within a specific week. ACV, apple cider vinegar; FBS, fasting blood sugar; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglycerides. have been promoted to treat obesity, but few are truly beneficial. energy expenditure, improved insulin sensitivity, appetite and satiety regulation. The present study is the first to investigate the antiobesity effectiveness of ACV, the fermented juice from crushed apples, in the Lebanese population.

A total of 120 overweight and obese adolescents and young adults (46 men and 74 women) with BMIs between 27 and 34 kg/m2, were enrolled. Participants were randomised to receive either a daily dose of ACV (5, 10 or 15 mL) or a placebo for a duration of 12 weeks. Some previous studies have suggested that taking ACV before or with meals might help to reduce postprandial blood sugar levels,22 23 but in our study, participants took ACV in the morning on an empty stomach. The choice of ACV intake timing was motivated by the aim to study the impact of apple cider vinegar without the confounding variables introduced by simultaneous food intake. In addition, taking ACV before meals could better reduce appetite and increase satiety. Our findings reveal that the consumption of ACV in people with overweight and obesity led to an improvement in the anthropometric and metabolic parameters.

It is important to note that the diet diary and physical activity did not differ among the three treatment groups and the placebo throughout the whole study, suggesting that the decrease in anthropometric and biochemical parameters was caused by ACV intake. Studies conducted on animal models often attribute these effects to various mechanisms, including increased While vinegar is composed of various ingredients, its primary component is acetic acid (AcOH). It has been shown that after 15 min of oral ingestion of 100 mL vinegar containing 0.75 g acetic acid, the serum acetate levels increases from 120 mol/L at baseline to 350 mol/ L24; this fast increase in circulatory acetate is due to its fast absorption in the upper digestive tract.24 25