If you want to get rid of some of that flab, then you should start drinking tea, for researchers in China have found that the drink can help obese people win the battle against the fat.

It's nothing more than pure, simple and refreshing oolong tea. This beverage has been shown in scientific studies to help increase metabolic rates and fat oxidation.

Researchers in China have been studying this for five years, paying special attention to how it affects kids. Researchers in the country along with identifying five new genes related to obesity during a five-year study have also found that polyphenols in tea, especially Oolong tea, can help you lose weight.

Guo Xirong, director of the Nanjing Institute for Pediatrics affiliated to Nanjing Medical College, and lead researcher of the study also noted that among black tea, green tea and Oolong tea, it was the last, that was the best at fighting obesity, reports China Daily.

Oolong tea is one of the lesser-known teas in the West. Just like its black and green counterparts, oolong tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. Oolong tea itself is nothing more than a variety of tea that falls somewhere between green and black tea in regard to the processing it undergoes.

Tea bushes produce three different kinds of tea. The types most individuals are familiar with include black tea – the kind you find in standard tea bags – and green tea – lauded for its many medicinal properties. Black teas are fully oxidized before drying and green teas are unoxidized. Oolong tea is somewhere in between the two; ranging from 10% to 70% oxidation. That means it possesses some of the properties of both black and green teas.

Of the total amount of tea produced and consumed in the world, 78 percent is black and is consumed primarily in the West, 20 percent is green and is drunk primarily in China, Japan and a few countries in North Africa, and less then 2 percent is Oolong tea, consumption of which is primarily confined to southeastern China. It is widely available in stores and from specialty shops online.

In particular, oolong tea is known to help fight obesity by activating the enzyme responsible for dissolving triglyceride (fatty deposits) and enhancing the function of fat metabolism. Also, the large amount of polyphenols found in oolong tea help prevent tooth decay and slow down the production of free radicals, which are known to accelerate the aging process. Herbalists believe that this tea can also improve kidney and spleen health.

Oolong tea can be a powerful addition for weight loss. While it alone might not help a person win the battle against fat, it can serve as a smart addition to an overall program to lose weight.

Xirong also said that the discovery of the five new genes also showed that diet and lifestyle are not the only factors that cause obesity.

"Diet and lifestyle are only the external reasons. The genetic conditions of the individuals could predispose, or even cause, children and adolescents to become overweight," the paper quoted him, as saying. He also said that maintaining a healthier diet and lifestyle will help people keep off the flab.

According to Xirong, the seeds of obesity can be planted in children while they are still fetuses in the womb. He claims that when pregnant women eat too much thereby causing a dramatic increase in their weight, they out their unborn kids at a higher risk of obesity later in life.

He also said that babies who are bottle-fed are more likely to become obese in later life as compared to breastfed babies, because they tend to develop a larger appetite as they are fed each time they cry. This is not the case with breastfed babies, as the secretion of breast milk is limited.