Controversial ‘tadpole water’ TikTok trend on the rise among Gen Z

Any time a public figure sheds a few pounds you’re likely to hear someone chalking it up to Ozempic.

The hunger management drug that can have profound impacts upon people’s ability to lose stubborn weight has takent the world by storm, but it’s part of a long lineage.

Weight loss solutions, from supplements to Slimming World, are nothing new, and Ozempic’s success hasn’t stopped other new fat-shedding trends from popping up around it.

For TikTokers on Gen Z, there’s a particularly gross new trend in the ring: tadpole water.

That sure is a lot of chia seeds (@this.is.not_mariah/TikTok)

Before we get into this one, weight loss has long been overly mystified. The simple fact is that you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight. A 500-calorie deficit every day equates to a pound of fat per week.

You can create this deficit by consuming fewer calories than your basal metabolic rate, and by getting more exercise. However, exercise alone likely won’t help you to lose weight.

There’s mounting evidence that calories burned during exercise are rebalanced by the body over the course of the day. In other words, if you burn 500 calories on a run, your body will work to burn 500 fewer calories on other processes to get you back to your usual overall calorie burn.

This might be through things like producing less inflammation, or behavioural factors like feeling tired and spending the rest of the day on the sofa.

Exercise is still very much worthwhile for your health, and you’ll burn more calories while your body recovers from strenuous activity, but it’s not enough to lose fat consistently. Diet is far more important on that front.

Anyway, back to the tadpole TikTok trend.

First off, fret not. There are no tadpoles in the water, nor is it water recovered from a tank of the little froggy friends.

It’s a glass of water with chia seeds and a squeeze of lemon. While it doesn’t contain any tadpoles, it certainly looks like it does.

Apparently, this blend has helped some TikTokers to drop some weight.

Mariah Padilla, @this.is.not_mariah on TikTok, posted a video sharing her experience.

"I can confirm that is does work for weight loss,” she said. This anecdotal affirmation doesn’t factor-in any other considerations like the rest of Mariah’s diet, her caloric intake, her exercise regimen, or anything else, so do take it with a pinch of salt.

"But does it taste good?” she continued. “No. The texture is funky and it tastes funky, too. It makes me gag…but it’s worth it.”

While she claims to have have three pounds in three days, this would equate to a caloric deficit of 1,500 calories.

Weight also fluctuates slightly between days and even over the course of the same day – think water weight, what you’ve eaten that day, whether you’ve done your business, etc. – in other words, it’s highly likely that she lost three pounds of fat in three days by eating chia seeds.

At ant rate, 'three or four days' isn't even remotely long enough to judge whether a weight loss aid is having an effect.

That doesn’t mean there’s no scientific merit to chia seeds as a weight loss aid, of course.

Harvard Health said: “Chia seeds are packed with nutrients that may support numerous health benefits.

Chia seeds may help with feeling a sense of satiety between meals (Alena Frolova/Getty Images)

“When chia seeds are ingested, they form a gel-like substance in the stomach that can increase your feeling of fullness and decrease your appetite and calorie intake.”

Chia seeds are also rich in protein and fibre, both of which contribute to a sense of fullness, along with omega-3, antioxidants, and more vitamins and minerals.

With these factors in mind, it’s fair to say they may contribute to greater satiety, meaning they may help you to control your hunger and how much you’re eating.

Do: consider including chia seeds in your diet.

Don’t: take anything a TikToker says at face value.