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SAN DIEGO —- There’s a new ally in the war on weight: Green coffee beans.

Scientists at the American Chemical Society convention reported that green, or unroasted, coffee beans can cause the obese to lose more than 10 percent of that unwanted weight in less than four months.

The study involved 16 overweight people aged 22 to 26 years. All cycled through three six-week regimens, of taking either a high or lose dose of an extract from green coffee beans, and a placebo, for 22 weeks.

The low dose consisted of 700 milligrams of the coffee extract, and the high dose was 1,050 milligrams. They were administered in capsules.

Participants lost an average of 17 pounds during the 22 weeks of the study. It included an average of a 10.5 percent decrease in overall body weight and a 16 percent decrease in body fat, according to a press release announcing the study.

“Based on our results, taking multiple capsules of green coffee extract a day —- while eating a low-fat, healthful diet and exercising regularly —- appears to be a safe, effective, inexpensive way to lose weight,” said study leader Joe Vinson, in the press release.

Vinson, a professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton, Penn., presented the results at the convention, held this week at the San Diego Convention Center.

Coffee bean (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By ensuring that each person took a placebo along with a low and high dose in turn, the individual effects could be studied more precisely, Vinson said.

While previous studies have shown weight loss with green coffee beans, Vinson said this study tested the highest level of the substance, and also was the first to test two doses.

Vinson said the weight-loss effect is probably from a substance called chlorogenic acid present in unroasted beans. Roasting breaks down this chemical, in addition to giving coffee its distinctive flavor and smell.