Does coconut oil help with weight loss?

No. The newest and largest synthesis, a 2025 dose-response meta-analysis of 15 trials with 620 adults, found no clinically meaningful effect of coconut oil on weight. Body weight moved by 0.04 for each extra 1 tsp (5 mL) a day, with an interval of 0.01 to 0.08, a figure the abstract gives in kilograms and the full text as a percentage. Either way it is tiny, and waist size did not change significantly. The doses ran from 1 to 2 tsp (5 to 60 mL) a day, over 5 days to 4 months, and the authors rated the weight evidence as moderate certainty.

Myth. Coconut oil is not a weight loss food. Three meta-analyses of the trials found no meaningful drop in weight, waist or body fat, and in trials longer than 4 weeks the 2025 analysis found weight went slightly up as the dose rose.

What the trials found

The syntheses

A 2022 meta-analysis of 7 randomized trials in 515 adults, followed for 4 weeks to 2 years, found coconut oil did not significantly lower body weight (a mean difference of -0.53 lb (-0.24 kg), interval -0.83 to 0.34), waist size (-0.25 in / -0.64 cm) or body fat (-0.10%). The trials were small, carried a high risk of bias and used 2.4 to 2 tsp (12 to 30 mL) a day, and the certainty was graded very low. A 2020 meta-analysis of 16 clinical trials found coconut oil did not change markers of body fat compared with liquid vegetable oils such as soybean or olive oil. That review also included trials that were not randomized.

The 2025 analysis split its trials by length. In trials of more than 4 weeks, more coconut oil went with a small rise in body weight. In the shorter trials there was no significant change. The authors judged the difference between the two groups credible.

Unsettled. One review points the other way, and it is worth saying why it does not change the answer. A 2023 meta-analysis of 9 trials reported a small drop of 1.7 lb (0.75 kg) in body weight with coconut oil compared with other fats, with BMI 0.28 lower and waist size unchanged. Its abstract gives no confidence intervals and the full text is behind a paywall, so we could not check how wide the uncertainty is. The 2022 and 2025 analyses, which give their intervals, found no meaningful loss.

The single trials

In 94 UK adults aged 50 to 75 from the community, eating 1.8 oz (50 g) a day of coconut oil, olive oil or butter for 4 weeks made no difference to weight, BMI or belly fat between the three groups. In 29 men with obesity on a balanced diet, a daily 2.4 tsp (12 mL) of extra virgin coconut oil for 45 days gave no difference in body measures against soybean oil. In 48 adults with metabolic syndrome, 2 tbsp (30 mL) a day of virgin coconut oil for 4 weeks did not change body measures either.

The trial most often quoted for coconut oil is a 12-week double-blind study of 40 women aged 20 to 40 with abdominal obesity. Everyone ate a reduced-calorie diet and walked 50 minutes a day, with 2 tbsp (30 mL) of either coconut or soybean oil. BMI fell in both groups. Waist size fell only in the coconut oil group, and the abstract does not say by how much. The weight came off with the diet and the walking.

The MCT argument

The idea that coconut oil burns fat leans on medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs. A 2024 meta-analysis in people with overweight or obesity found diets rich in MCTs lowered body weight by 1.53% compared with long-chain fats, with an interval of -2.44 to -0.63%, and pure MCTs by 1.62%. Diets with mixed medium and long chain fats did not reduce weight significantly. That analysis was about MCT oil. It did not test coconut oil, so it cannot be borrowed as evidence for the jar in the kitchen.

The calories

Coconut oil is almost all fat. UK composition data put it at 99.9 g of fat and 899 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g), and one tablespoon weighs 14 g in US survey data. Added to a diet without taking something else away, those calories count like any other fat.

Who should be careful

Not for everyone. Anyone watching their LDL cholesterol. A 2020 meta-analysis of 16 trials found coconut oil raised LDL by 10.47 mg/dL (interval 3.01 to 17.94) compared with liquid vegetable oils. In 48 adults with metabolic syndrome, 2 tbsp (30 mL) a day of virgin coconut oil for 4 weeks raised total and LDL cholesterol against their usual diet, in a small trial without blinding.

In a crossover trial of 12 postmenopausal women, 2 tbsp (30 mL) a day of virgin coconut oil for 28 days raised LDL by 13.5 mg/dL, and one woman had an adverse reaction with increased inflammation. That is one person in a very small trial. We found no studies on coconut oil and weight that looked at pregnancy, children, allergy or interactions with medicines, so this page has nothing to say about those groups.

What expert bodies say

We found no expert body that recommends coconut oil for weight loss. The WHO recommends that adults and children keep saturated fat to 10% of their total energy, as a strong recommendation, and coconut oil is mostly saturated fat, 86.5 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) in UK data. A systematic review of 128 cohorts done for the WHO concluded that dietary fats should come largely from seeds, nuts or liquid vegetable oils rather than from coconut oil. That is a conclusion about saturated fat and health in general, without a figure for coconut oil itself. The American Heart Association advisory on this question was behind a block we could not get past, so it is not cited here.

How we searched

What would change this answer

• A trial longer than a year with body weight as the main outcome. Most trials ran 4 to 12 weeks at 2.4 to 2 tsp (12 to 60 mL) a day. We found no such trial running on ClinicalTrials.gov.
• The full text of the 2023 meta-analysis, to see whether its 1.7 lb (0.75 kg) drop holds up once the intervals are shown.
• A trial that tests coconut oil itself against pure MCT oil, so the two stop being treated as one product.

More on the oil itself, its fat profile and how it compares in cooking, is on the coconut oil page.

Sources

1. ev-cocwl-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of clinical trials · n = 620
   Overall, our findings suggest no clinically significant effects of coconut oil supplementation on weight loss.
   
   Who: adults in 15 clinical trials (parallel or cross-over) of coconut oil versus coconut oil-free diet or other oils
   Effect: body weight MD +0.09 lb (95% CI 0.02 to 0.18; metric: 0.04 kg, 0.01 to 0.08); BMI +0.01 kg/m2 (0.00 to 0.02); waist circumference not significant; GRADE moderate for weight and BMI, low for waist
   Certainty: Full text (PMC): the effect is per each +5 mL/day; doses 5-60 mL/day, duration 5 days to 4 months; the result held on one study (Candido 2021). The result in Results is given as 'MD: 0.04%': unit discrepancy with the abstract (kg).
   BMC Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
2. ev-cocwl-02 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · dose-response meta-analysis, subgroup analysis · n = 13 trials, 572 participants
   There was a credible subgroup difference, where trials with more than 4 weeks duration showed a significant increase in body weight (MD: 0.10; 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.17, P = 0.002), but trials with an intervention duration less than 4 weeks did not (P for subgroup difference = 0.039, Supplementary Table 4).
   
   Who: RCT subgroup with intervention longer than 4 weeks
   Effect: body weight MD +0.10 per 5 mL/day (95% CI 0.04 to 0.17) in trials over 4 weeks; non-significant in shorter trials
   Certainty: Subgroup by duration, the authors call the difference plausible; the unit is not stated explicitly in the text.
   BMC Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the fulltext
3. ev-cocwl-03 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs · n = 515
   Coconut oil intake did not significantly decrease body weight (MD -0.24 kg, 95% CI -0.83 kg to 0.34 kg), waist circumference (MD -0.64 cm, 95% CI -1.69 cm to 0.41 cm), and % body fat (-0.10%, 95% CI -0.56% to 0.36%)
   
   Who: adults in RCTs comparing coconut oil with other oils or fats, follow-up 4 weeks to 2 years
   Effect: body weight MD -0.53 lb (95% CI -1.8 to 0.75; metric: -0.24 kg, -0.83 to 0.34); waist -0.25 in (-0.67 to 0.16; metric: -0.64 cm, -1.69 to 0.41); body fat -0.10% (-0.56 to 0.36); GRADE very low
   Certainty: High risk of bias, small samples, different doses (12-30 mL/day).
   Lipids Health Dis, 2022 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
4. ev-cocwl-04 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials · n = 16 trials
   Coconut oil consumption did not significantly affect markers of glycemia, inflammation, and adiposity as compared with nontropical vegetable oils.
   
   Who: clinical trials of at least 2 weeks comparing coconut oil with other fats; body weight in 8 trials, body fat in 5, waist in 4
   Effect: no significant effect on adiposity markers versus nontropical vegetable oils
   Certainty: Also includes nonrandomized trials; no effect size for weight in the abstract.
   Circulation, 2020 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
5. ev-cocwl-05 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials · n = 546
   Results indicate a small statistically significant reduction in BW, BMI, and FM% in the coconut oil group.
   
   Who: adults in clinical trials of more than one month comparing coconut oil with other oils or fats
   Effect: body weight -1.7 lb (-0.75 kg) (P=0.04); BMI -0.28 kg/m2 (P=0.03); fat mass % -0.35% (P=0.008); waist -0.24 in (-0.61 cm) (P=0.30, ns)
   Certainty: Diverges from the 2022 and 2025 meta-analyses; CI not given in the abstract; full text is paid (Minerva).
   Minerva Endocrinology, 2023 (Swarnamali et al.) · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
6. ev-cocwl-06 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis · n = —
   However, our subgroup analysis indicates that an MLCTs-enriched diet did not significantly reduce weight loss.
   
   Who: individuals with overweight or obesity in trials of MCT-enriched versus LCT-enriched diets
   Effect: weight WMD -1.53% (95% CI -2.44 to -0.63) for MCTs; -1.62% (-2.78 to -0.46) for pure MCTs; MLCT diets not significant
   Certainty: This is about pure MCT oil, not coconut; the argument "coconut = MCT" does not rest on this card. The number of studies is not given in the abstract.
   Clin Nutr, 2024 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
7. ev-cocwl-07 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized double-blind clinical trial, 12 weeks · n = 40
   Reductions in BMI were observed in both groups at T2 (P < 0.05), but only group C exhibited a reduction in WC (P = 0.005).
   
   Who: women aged 20-40 years with waist circumference >35 in (88 cm), 30 mL/day coconut oil or soybean oil, hypocaloric diet and 50 min walking daily
   Effect: BMI reduced in both groups; waist circumference reduced only in coconut oil group (P = 0.005)
   Certainty: Weight loss came from a calorie deficit and walking; the difference between groups in BMI is not shown, no size of waist change in the abstract.
   Lipids, 2009 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
8. ev-cocwl-08 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized controlled clinical trial, 45 days · n = 29
   There was no difference in anthropometric variables between the groups before and after intervention.
   
   Who: adult men with obesity, 12 mL/day extra virgin coconut oil (n=15) or soybean oil (n=14), isoenergetic balanced diet
   Effect: no difference in anthropometric variables between groups; HDL rose with coconut oil
   Certainty: Small and short.
   Food Funct, 2020 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
9. ev-cocwl-09 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized clinical trial, 4 weeks · n = 94
   There were no significant differences in changes in weight, BMI, central adiposity, fasting blood glucose, systolic or diastolic blood pressure among any of the three intervention groups.
   
   Who: men and women aged 50-75 years, general community in Cambridgeshire, UK, 50 g/day of one fat for 4 weeks
   Effect: no significant differences in change in weight, BMI or central adiposity among the three groups
   Certainty: 50 g/day (~450 calories) without weight at the end: short; participants could have replaced other fat.
   BMJ Open, 2018 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
10. ev-cocwl-10 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized crossover study · n = 12
    One person had adverse reactions to VCO and increased inflammation.
    
    Who: postmenopausal women (58.8 years), 2 tbsp (30 mL) VCO or high-oleic safflower oil for 28 days each
    Effect: LDL +13.5 mg/dL, total cholesterol +18.2 mg/dL with VCO; body composition measured by DXA
    Certainty: The abstract does not give a result for weight; one adverse reaction.
    J Med Food, 2017 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
11. ev-cocwl-11 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials · n = 16 trials
    Coconut oil consumption significantly increased LDL-cholesterol by 10.47 mg/dL (95% CI: 3.01, 17.94; I2 = 84%, N=16) and HDL-cholesterol by 4.00 mg/dL (95% CI: 2.26, 5.73; I2 = 72%, N=16) as compared with nontropical vegetable oils.
    
    Who: clinical trials of at least 2 weeks comparing coconut oil with other fats
    Effect: LDL-C +10.47 mg/dL (95% CI 3.01 to 17.94; I2 84%); HDL-C +4.00 mg/dL (2.26 to 5.73)
    Certainty: The price of "weight loss on coconut oil": it does not drop weight, and LDL rises.
    Circulation, 2020 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
12. ev-cocwl-12 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized controlled trial, 30 ml/day VCO replacing usual fat, 4 weeks · n = 48
    However, levels of TC, LDL-C, and ADMA elevated by VCO consumption.
    
    Who: subjects, aged 20-50 years, with MetS
    Effect: TC, LDL-C and ADMA increased vs usual diet; anthropometric parameters not different
    Certainty: Small, without blinding; the authors advise caution.
    Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2021 · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the abstract
13. ev-cocwl-13 · Position of an expert body · WHO guideline · n = —
    WHO recommends that adults and children reduce saturated fatty acid intake to 10% of total energy intake (strong recommendation).
    
    Who: adults and children
    Effect: SFA at most 10% of total energy intake (strong recommendation)
    Certainty: A general limit on saturated fat; not specific to coconut oil.
    WHO, 2023, Saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake for adults and children: WHO guideline · checked 2026-10-07 · we read the section
14. cocoil-daily-r2-11 · Observational data · WHO-commissioned systematic review of observational studies · n = 128 cohorts
    Thus, dietary fats should come largely from seeds, nuts or liquid vegetable oil (olive, canola) rather than hydrogenated vegetable fats or land animal fats and coconut oil.
    
    Who: 128 prospective cohort studies
    Effect: recommendation; no effect size for coconut oil itself
    Certainty: this is the conclusion of a review for WHO on SFA, not on coconut oil separately
    WHO 2022, Saturated fat and trans-fat intakes and their replacement with other macronutrients · checked 2026-09-29 · we read the section
15. cocoil-daily-r2-12 · Position of an expert body · food composition dataset · n = 1 record
    Oil, coconut (CoFID 17-031, OC): fat 99.9 g, saturated fat 86.5 g per 100 g food (91.9 g per 100 g fatty acids), monounsaturated 6.0 g, polyunsaturated 1.5 g, energy 899 kcal; USDA FDC 330458 saturated fat 82.5 g, fat 99.1 g (Foundation samples 98.6-99.4, n=6)
    
    Who: CoFID 2021 Oil, coconut (17-031)
    Effect: fat 99.9 g, saturated 86.5 g (91.9% of fatty acids), MUFA 6.0 g, PUFA 1.5 g per 3.5 oz (100 g); USDA FDC 330458 gives saturated 82.5 g
    Certainty: a second independent number: USDA Foundation 82.5 g saturated, the difference is 5%
    CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0), code 17-031 Oil, coconut · checked 2026-09-29 · we read the dataset
16. cocoil-daily-r2-13 · Position of an expert body · food portion dataset · n = 1 record
    Coconut oil (FNDDS 82101500, fdc 2710182, WWEIA Salad dressings and vegetable oils): 1 tablespoon = 14 g, 1 cup = 224 g, quantity not specified = 14 g
    
    Who: FNDDS Coconut oil, food code 82101500 (fdc 2710182)
    Effect: 1 tablespoon = 14 g; 1 cup = 224 g
    Certainty: converted from 100 g; saturated 12 g = 14 g x 86.5%/82.5% (≈11.6-12.1 g)
    USDA FNDDS, food code 82101500 Coconut oil (FDC 2710182) · checked 2026-09-29 · we read the dataset