The Apple Cider Vinegar Weight-Loss Trick: The Retracted Study Behind It
This one has an unusually clean paper trail — the exact study behind the viral claim can be identified, and it was formally retracted by its publisher. Here's what happened.
The specific viral study claiming dramatic weight loss from apple cider vinegar was retracted after other researchers couldn't reproduce the results. What legitimate research does show is a much smaller, unrelated effect on post-meal blood sugar.
What the viral claim was based on
In March 2024, a small clinical trial published in an open-access journal (BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health) reported that 120 participants, split into groups drinking either a placebo or 5, 10, or 15 mL of apple cider vinegar each morning, showed dramatic results after three months — the vinegar groups reportedly lost 5 to 7 kg, compared to less than 1 kg in the placebo group. The study went viral immediately, cited across social media and wellness sites as proof of the trick's effectiveness.
What happened next: a formal retraction
Other researchers tried to replicate the analysis and couldn't. Statisticians identified multiple analytical errors, and the magnitude of the claimed effect turned out to be biologically implausible — for context, the claimed ~9% body weight loss in 12 weeks from a few drops of vinegar daily would have made apple cider vinegar roughly 50% more effective than GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, which is not a plausible result for a kitchen ingredient. The journal's publisher (BMJ Group) formally retracted the study in September 2025.
What legitimate research on apple cider vinegar actually shows
Separate from the retracted study, some smaller, legitimate research has found apple cider vinegar may have a minor effect on post-meal blood glucose levels in certain contexts. That's a genuinely different, much more modest claim than "causes significant weight loss" — and there is no reliable evidence at a clinically meaningful level supporting apple cider vinegar for weight loss specifically.
Sources
ScienceDaily, "Viral apple cider vinegar weight loss study retracted for flawed science," 2025; McGill University Office for Science and Society, "Apple Cider Vinegar...Again"; SciTechDaily retraction coverage.
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