Does CoQ10 help with weight loss? What the research does and doesn't show

The evidence doesn't support CoQ10 for weight loss. Two meta-analyses, of 17 and 20 randomised trials, found no significant change in body weight, BMI or waist circumference with CoQ10. Their intervals also include small gains, so the evidence doesn't show weight gain either.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support CoQ10 as a weight-loss aid, a fat burner or a treatment for obesity. It doesn't show that a higher dose or a longer course changes that: in the 17-trial analysis the subgroups by dose and by duration did not differ. It doesn't show that CoQ10 causes weight gain, either; the pooled result was close to zero in both directions. And it says nothing about people who lose weight for other reasons while taking it, since the trials measured the average change against placebo or control.

What the trials found

Seventeen trials, 2019. A meta-analysis of 17 randomised trials found that CoQ10 had no significant effect on body weight (weighted mean difference +0.28 kg, 95% CI -0.91 to +1.47, p = 0.64) or on BMI (-0.03, 95% CI -0.40 to +0.34, p = 0.86). Subgroup analysis found that dose and trial duration did not change the result. The authors concluded the analysis failed to show any beneficial effect on body weight or BMI (Saboori 2019).

Twenty trials, 2020. A second meta-analysis of 20 randomised trials in 976 participants reached the same answer: no effect on body weight (-0.04 kg, 95% CI -1.96 to 1.6), BMI (-0.06 kg/m2, 95% CI -0.54 to 0.42) or waist circumference (0.79 cm, 95% CI -2.83 to 0.04). The authors said CoQ10 might not improve anthropometric indices and that better-designed trials were still needed (Ghavami 2020).

Both abstracts pooled trials of mixed doses, populations and forms and don't state which. So they show no average effect; they can't rule out a different result in a particular group.

Questions people ask

Does CoQ10 help with weight loss, and can it help you lose weight?

Not shown. Pooled trials found no significant change in weight, BMI or waist size.

Does CoQ10 cause weight loss, or weight gain?

Neither was shown. The weight change in both analyses was small and not significant, with intervals spanning a loss and a gain of about a kilogram or two.

What is the CoQ10 weight loss dosage, and does a higher dose work?

There isn't one. The 17-trial analysis found no difference between dose subgroups. See CoQ10 dosage for the doses used in studies of other outcomes.

Do CoQ10 benefits for women include weight loss, or will it help me lose weight?

The trials pooled adults and the abstracts don't report results by sex. For what has been studied in women, see CoQ10 for women: what the research does and doesn't show. Reviews and testimonials on retail sites are not evidence.

When to talk to a doctor

If weight is affecting your health, or you have lost or gained weight without trying, a doctor can look for causes and discuss options with an evidence base. CoQ10 is not a treatment for obesity. If you take prescription medicine, ask your prescriber before adding a supplement.

Related reading: CoQ10, diabetes and PCOS, CoQ10 and cholesterol, CoQ10 benefits: what the research does and doesn't show.