Interest in NAD+ has grown alongside research into metabolism, energy production, and healthy aging, but can increasing NAD+ actually help you lose weight?

So far, human studies haven’t found that NAD+ precursors lead to meaningful weight loss or significant changes in body composition.

While animal research has produced some promising findings around metabolism and weight, those results haven’t translated into weight loss in human trials. Here’s what researchers have learned so far, why NAD+ is still being studied for metabolic health, and what that research may mean if weight loss is your goal.

What to Know About NAD+ and Weight Loss

• NAD+ plays an important role in metabolism and cellular energy. Because NAD+ helps cells turn nutrients into usable energy, researchers have been interested in whether increasing NAD+ could influence metabolic health and weight.
• Animal studies have shown promising results, but human studies tell a different story. NAD+ precursors have helped protect against weight gain and obesity in some animal research, but similar weight-loss effects haven’t been demonstrated in people.
• So far, NAD+ hasn’t been shown to cause meaningful weight loss in human trials. Studies of NAD+ precursors such as nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) haven’t found significant reductions in body weight or meaningful changes in body composition.
• That doesn’t mean NAD+ has no relationship with metabolic health. Some research has found improvements in measures such as insulin sensitivity, suggesting there may be metabolic effects worth studying even when the number on the scale doesn’t change.
• Supporting metabolic health isn’t the same as promoting weight loss. NAD+ remains an interesting area of metabolic research, but current evidence doesn’t support using NAD+ as a weight-loss treatment.

How NAD+ Relates to Metabolism

NAD+ stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a coenzyme that helps your cells turn the carbohydrates, fats, and proteins you eat into usable energy.

It also supports enzymes called sirtuins, which are involved in mitochondrial function and the way the body processes glucose and fat. Because of these roles, researchers have become interested in whether increasing NAD+ levels could support metabolic health.

That connection makes NAD+ an interesting area of weight loss research, but there’s an important distinction: helping cells use energy efficiently doesn’t necessarily mean helping the body lose weight. To understand whether NAD+ can actually affect body weight or body composition, we have to look at what has happened in human studies.

Can NAD+ Increase Metabolism or Calorie Burning?

One reason NAD+ gets so much attention for weight loss is its role in energy metabolism. That naturally raises the question: if you increase NAD+, could your body burn more calories or fat?

So far, human research hasn’t shown that effect.

In a 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 40 men with obesity and insulin resistance took 2,000 mg of nicotinamide riboside (NR) daily. Researchers measured several markers of metabolism, including resting energy expenditure, fat breakdown, fat burning, and body composition.

While NR was well tolerated, it didn’t significantly increase the number of calories participants burned at rest or change their body composition. Researchers also found no meaningful improvements in fat breakdown (lipolysis) or fat oxidation, which is the process of using fat for energy.

In other words, NAD+ plays an important role in how cells produce and use energy, but increasing NAD+ doesn’t necessarily make the body burn more calories. Based on the human evidence we have so far, NAD+ precursors haven’t been shown to significantly increase metabolic rate or fat burning.

What Human Trials Say About NAD+ and Weight Loss

While NAD+ has shown some interesting effects on metabolism in animal studies, human research has been much less convincing when it comes to weight loss. So far, clinical trials of NAD+ precursors haven’t found meaningful reductions in body weight or significant changes in body composition.

Three human studies help illustrate what researchers have found so far.

• Nicotinamide riboside, 2,000 mg daily, 12 weeks, men with obesity and insulin resistance. No improvement in insulin sensitivity or glucose metabolism. No change in energy expenditure, fat mobilization, or body composition.
• Nicotinamide riboside, 1,000 mg daily, six weeks, 13 adults with overweight or obesity. This trial raised NAD+ metabolites inside skeletal muscle and altered muscle acetylcarnitine metabolism, a marker of how muscle handles fuel. It produced only minor changes in body composition and did not improve insulin sensitivity or mitochondrial function.
• NMN, 250 mg daily, 10 weeks, 25 postmenopausal women with prediabetes and overweight or obesity. Published in Science in 2021, this is the most positive of the three. Muscle insulin sensitivity improved by about 25 percent, and muscle insulin signalling increased. It was measured with a clamp test, which is considered a highly accurate method for assessing insulin sensitivity. Body weight and body composition did not change.

It is also worth knowing that a published comment on the paper pointed out that liver fat differed substantially between the two groups at baseline, which complicates interpretation.

If you are weighing NAD+ against other longevity products, our review of longevity supplements that hold up to scrutiny covers what the evidence supports and what it does not.

A meta-analysis in Frontiers in Nutrition pooled 22 treatment arms covering 5,144 participants and found NAD+ precursor supplementation associated with a small reduction in BMI of 0.19 kg per square metre and an increase in adiponectin, with no significant effect on body weight.

Most of that pooled data came from nicotinic acid and nicotinamide, not from nicotinamide riboside or NMN, and nicotinic acid has largely been studied as a lipid-lowering agent. A BMI difference of 0.19 kg per square metre is roughly half a kilogram for an average adult, which is inside the range of normal weight fluctuation.

What Research Says About NAD+ and Obesity

Much of the early interest in NAD+ and weight management came from promising animal studies.

In a 2012 study published in Cell Metabolism, nicotinamide riboside (NR) increased oxidative metabolism and helped protect mice from weight gain associated with a high-fat diet. A later study found that long-term nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation reduced age-related weight gain in mice.

These findings helped spark interest in whether NAD+ precursors could have similar effects in people. However, results from animal studies don’t always translate to humans. Mice metabolize nutrients differently, their diets can be tightly controlled, and the relative doses used in animal research may differ considerably from those studied in people.

So far, human trials haven’t produced the same weight-related results. While NAD+ precursors continue to be studied for their potential effects on metabolism and metabolic health, there’s currently no strong evidence that they produce meaningful weight loss in humans.

Can NAD+ Therapy Support a Weight-Management Program?

Not as a weight-loss agent, based on current evidence. It may still fit into a broader health plan for reasons unrelated to weight loss, as long as expectations are clear. The important thing is that it should not displace the parts of a program that actually drive weight change.

Combining NAD+ with Nutrition, Exercise, and Medical Weight Management

NAD+ shouldn’t replace the strategies that have been shown to support healthy, sustainable weight loss, including balanced nutrition, regular physical activity, and medical treatment when appropriate. There also isn’t enough evidence to show that adding an NAD+ precursor makes these approaches more effective for weight loss.

If you’re using NAD+ alongside a weight-management program, let your healthcare provider know about any supplements you’re taking, especially if prescription medications are part of your treatment plan.

Safety and Who Should Speak with a Healthcare Provider First

NAD+ precursors have been well tolerated in trials, including nicotinamide riboside at 2,000 mg daily for 12 weeks. Side effects reported have been generally mild.

Speak with a clinician first if you:

• Take prescription medication of any kind, particularly for diabetes or blood pressure
• Have kidney or liver disease
• Are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Have a history of disordered eating, since supplements marketed for weight loss can complicate recovery
• Are considering high-dose nicotinic acid, which is a different molecule with distinct effects on flushing, blood sugar, and liver enzymes

Frequently Asked Questions

Does NAD+ Help You Lose Weight?

So far, human studies haven’t shown that NAD+ precursors lead to meaningful weight loss or significant changes in body composition. While some animal studies have produced promising results, those weight-related effects haven’t been replicated in people.

Can NAD+ Increase Metabolism?

NAD+ plays an important role in cellular energy metabolism, but increasing NAD+ hasn’t been shown to make people burn significantly more calories. In one 12-week trial, nicotinamide riboside (NR) didn’t increase resting energy expenditure in men with obesity and insulin resistance.

Does NAD+ Burn Fat?

Human research hasn’t shown that NAD+ supplementation increases fat burning. In a 12-week trial, researchers measured both fat breakdown and fat oxidation and found no significant increase in either. Animal and laboratory research suggests NAD+ is involved in how cells process fat, but that hasn’t translated into meaningful fat loss in people.

How Does NAD+ Affect Metabolism?

NAD+ helps cells convert nutrients into usable energy and supports enzymes involved in metabolic processes. Some human research suggests increasing NAD+ may affect certain markers of metabolic health, such as insulin sensitivity. However, those potential metabolic effects haven’t translated into significant increases in calorie burning or reductions in body weight.

Can NAD+ Therapy Be Used for Weight Loss in Canada?

NAD+ isn’t authorized as a weight-loss treatment in Canada. NMN is available as a licensed natural health product, but permitted claims relate to areas such as general health, antioxidant activity, vitamin B3, and energy metabolism, not weight loss.

If you’re considering NAD+ alongside a weight-management program, a healthcare provider can help you understand where it may, or may not, fit into your overall plan.

Where NAD+ Fits Into the Weight Loss Conversation

NAD+ is worth taking seriously as a metabolic research topic, and not worth counting on for weight loss. The one clear human benefit so far, improved muscle insulin sensitivity in women with prediabetes, happened without any change in weight, which is a useful reminder that metabolic health and body weight are related but separate things.

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References

1. You B, Reis MG, Tavakoli S, et al. “The Effects of NAD+ Precursor Supplementation on Weight Loss and Related Hormones: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” Frontiers in Nutrition. 2023;10:1208734.
2. Dollerup OL, Christensen B, Svart M, et al. “A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of Nicotinamide Riboside in Obese Men: Safety, Insulin-Sensitivity, and Lipid-Mobilizing Effects.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2018;108(2):343–353.
3. Remie CME, Roumans KHM, Moonen MPB, et al. “Nicotinamide Riboside Supplementation Alters Body Composition and Skeletal Muscle Acetylcarnitine Concentrations in Healthy Obese Humans.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2020;112(2):413–426.
4. Yoshino M, Yoshino J, Kayser BD, et al. “Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Increases Muscle Insulin Sensitivity in Prediabetic Women.” Science. 2021;372(6547):1224–1229.
5. Brenner C. “Comment on ‘Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Increases Muscle Insulin Sensitivity in Prediabetic Women.’” Science. 2021;373(6554):eabj1696.
6. Cantó C, Houtkooper RH, Pirinen E, et al. “The NAD+ Precursor Nicotinamide Riboside Enhances Oxidative Metabolism and Protects Against High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity.” Cell Metabolism. 2012;15(6):838–847.
7. Mills KF, Yoshida S, Stein LR, et al. “Long-Term Administration of Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Mitigates Age-Associated Physiological Decline in Mice.” Cell Metabolism. 2016;24(6):795–806.
8. Health Canada. “Guidance Document: Schedule A and Section 3 to the Food and Drugs Act.” Health Products and Food Branch. Effective December 19, 2013.
9. Health Canada. “Licensed Natural Health Products Database, Product Licence NPN 80121612 (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide).” Licensed Natural Health Products Database.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider with any questions about a medical condition or treatment.

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