It’s health benefits are already well-known. And now green tea has been shown to aid weight loss too – but only if it becomes your favourite drink.

There has long been debate over whether green tea can really fight the flab. The latest study shows it can, as long as you drink seven cups daily.

Researchers tested the theory on 14 active men with the average age of 21, half of who took a 571mg capsule of decaffeinated green tea extract. All of the group cycled for one hour, three times per week for four weeks.

Those who took the extract had a drop in body fat of 1.63 per cent and their cycling performance increased by 10.9 per cent over four weeks.

Dr Justin Roberts, senior lecturer in sport and exercise sciences at Cambridge’s Anglia Ruskin University, said those hoping to use green tea for weight loss may require close to six to seven cups a day to get the dosage required.

The study was published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.