Does apple cider vinegar help you lose weight?

Short answer

The effect is small. Pooling 12 trials with 918 people who drank vinegar for up to 12 weeks, weight dropped about 1 kg more, with no difference in waist size or BMI. The 2024 study that claimed big losses was retracted.

Does apple cider vinegar help you lose weight?
'A glass of vinegar → fat burns → weight drops' — is that right?
A common tip says a glass of apple cider vinegar in the morning melts weight off. We checked how much weight actually came off, why, and whether the study that claimed big losses holds up.
Weight did go down
Pooling 12 trials and 918 people: about 1 kg
An analysis that pooled 12 trials with 918 people who drank vinegar for 5 days to 12 weeks found weight dropped 1.06 kg more than in people who did not. In the same analysis, waist size and BMI (body mass index) did not differ.
The difference came from a 12-week trial
1-2 tablespoons a day lowered weight and belly fat
In a Japanese trial, three groups drank 500 mL of a drink with 15 mL (1 tablespoon), 30 mL (2 tablespoons) or 0 mL of vinegar every day for 12 weeks. Both vinegar groups ended with lower weight, visceral (deep belly) fat and blood triglycerides than the placebo group.
Blood sugar changed fast, weight changed slowly
An 8-week trial improved only blood sugar
When 12 people added vinegar to white bread, blood sugar and insulin rose less 30 minutes after the meal. When 45 people drank red wine vinegar daily for 8 weeks, fasting blood sugar and insulin improved, but weight and visceral fat did not differ. In the pooled analysis, the weight difference came from trials longer than 8 weeks.
Appetite dropped because of nausea
The worse the vinegar drink tasted, the less people wanted to eat
When 12 people had vinegar with bread, more vinegar meant higher fullness scores. But in a 16-person trial, drinking vinegar cut appetite while nausea rose with it, and the effect was biggest with a drink made to taste bad. In 14 people who only held vinegar in their mouths, appetite did not change.
The 'lost several kilos' study was retracted
A viral 2024 study whose data did not add up
A widely shared 2024 apple cider vinegar weight study was retracted by its journal in 2025. Its results could not be reproduced, and the data showed patterns that did not fit truly random groups. The roughly 1 kg result above did not include this study.
Bottom line: apple cider vinegar is worth about 1 kg
Blood sugar right away, about 1 kg of weight over 12 weeks
Drinking vinegar for up to 12 weeks took off about 1 kg more weight, with no difference in waist size or BMI. The drop in appetite came from nausea. The trial that worked used 1-2 tablespoons a day mixed in water, and the 2024 study that claimed big losses was retracted.