Bone Broth for Weight Loss | What The Evidence Shows

Bone broth may support weight loss indirectly by helping you eat fewer calories, but no evidence shows it causes weight loss on its own.

Wondering whether bone broth for weight loss actually works? The honest answer is layered. Bone broth is a low-calorie, high-protein food that fits neatly into a calorie-controlled plan, and swapping it for higher-calorie snacks can move the scale. What it won’t do is melt fat by itself. Harvard’s nutrition experts describe bone broth as a nutritious addition to the diet, but they stop well short of calling it a weight-loss food, and no reputable source claims the broth alone drives fat loss.

What Bone Broth Actually Contributes

A standard 8-ounce serving of bone broth delivers roughly 40–50 calories and about 8–10 grams of protein. That protein, plus the fluid volume, is the mechanism that matters most for weight management. Protein-rich foods increase satiety, meaning you feel full longer after eating. When you feel full, you tend to eat less overall, and that reduction in total calories is what produces weight loss — not any special property of the broth itself.

The practical takeaway: bone broth works as a substitute, not a supplement. Replacing a 200-calorie afternoon snack with a 50-calorie cup of broth creates a real calorie deficit. Adding that same cup on top of your usual meals does nothing but add calories. Cedars-Sinai’s experts frame it the same way — broth is a low-calorie, hydrating food that supports weight management within a balanced diet, not a standalone solution.

What The 2025 Clinical Trial Found

A 2025 open-label clinical trial studied adults with obesity aged 35–65 who followed a bone-broth diet program. The results showed statistically significant short-term weight loss: participants lost 4.8 kg (about 5.0% of body weight) after the first phase and another 2.6 kg (2.7%) after the second. Those numbers sound impressive, but the trial’s design matters.

The program wasn’t just broth. The Bone Broth Diet combines low-carb, paleo-style eating with intermittent fasting and two mini fast days at roughly 500 calories per day. The weight loss likely reflects the restrictive structure — severe calorie reduction plus fasting — rather than something unique in the broth. Harvard’s review of the evidence makes the same point: no clinical trial shows that adding bone broth by itself leads to weight loss, and early drops on the scale often reflect water weight from a sudden calorie cut.

Using Bone Broth In A Weight-Loss Plan

If you want to use bone broth for weight loss, treat it as a tool with a clear job: replacing higher-calorie foods and beverages. Three approaches fit the evidence:

• Swap snacks. Replace a calorie-dense afternoon snack with a warm cup of broth. This is the mechanism consumer health sources repeatedly describe, and it’s the easiest way to create a deficit.
• Start meals with broth. Having a cup before lunch or dinner can curb appetite enough to reduce what you eat at that meal.
• Use it during a structured plan. If you follow the full Bone Broth Diet, understand that fasting and low-carb restriction drive the results, not the broth alone. That structure isn’t sustainable for everyone and can trigger rebound eating.

The most important rule: broth replaces food; it never gets added on top of your normal intake. For a tested rundown of which broths are worth buying, see our roundup of the best bone broth products for weight loss.

What Experts Won’t Tell You To Expect

The honest limitations deserve equal airtime. Treat them as marketing, not medicine.

Two practical caveats matter for everyday use. Sodium varies widely between brands and homemade preparations, which matters if you monitor blood pressure. And the restrictive fasting-plus-low-calorie structure of the full diet can be hard to maintain long-term, raising the chance of regaining weight once you stop. Bone broth is a filling, low-calorie substitute that supports a calorie-controlled plan — nothing more, and that’s enough.