Cryotherapy involves exposing your body to extreme cold for medical benefits. While some people claim it helps with weight loss, there’s little evidence supporting this.

Cryotherapy has become popular because of its ability to treat painful chronic conditions like migraine and rheumatoid arthritis. It’s also been touted as a possible weight loss treatment.

But does cryotherapy for weight loss really have any science behind it? In short, probably not.

Read on to learn about the purported benefits of cryotherapy for weight loss, whether you can expect any side effects, and how it stacks up against CoolSculpting.

The theory behind cryotherapy for weight loss is that it freezes fat cells throughout the body and kills them. This causes them to be filtered out of the body by your liver and permanently removed from areas of fat tissue.

A substance in your body called brown adipose tissue (BAT) burns fat to help make energy when your body is exposed to extreme cold, suggesting that the body may have mechanisms for reducing fat when exposed to cold temperatures.

One 2020 study on menopausal women found that whole-body cryotherapy was linked to reductions in belly fat. However, the study authors noted that these findings were limited to this population.

A 2018 study found that long-term cryotherapy activates a process in the body called cold-induced thermogenesis. This led to an overall loss of body mass, particularly around the waist, by an average of 3%.

Research from 2014 exposed participants to increasingly cold temperatures and then increasingly warmer temperatures every night for 4 months. The study started at 75°F (23.9°C) down to 66.2°F (19°C), and back up to 81°F (27.2°C) by the end of the 4-month period.

They found that exposure to progressively cooler then warmer temperatures can make your BAT more responsive to these temperature changes and help your body become better at processing glucose.

While this isn’t necessarily linked to weight loss, increased sugar metabolism can help you lose weight over time by helping your body better digest sugars that can otherwise turn into body fat.

While it has some possible benefits, cryotherapy has also been found to have some side effects that you may want to consider before you attempt to try it for weight loss.

Nerve side effects

Extreme cold on the skin can lead to a number of nerve-related side effects, including:

  • numbness
  • tingling
  • redness or other color changes
  • skin irritation

These are typically temporary, lasting only a few hours after the procedure. If these side effects haven’t gone away after more than 24 hours, reach out to a doctor.

Long-term use

You should not do cryotherapy longer than recommended by a doctor. Long-term cold exposure can cause permanent nerve damage or the death of skin tissue (necrosis).

Whole-body cryotherapy is done at below-freezing temperatures, so it should never be done for more than 5 minutes.

If you’re trying cryotherapy at home with an ice pack or a tub filled with ice, cover the ice pack with a towel to avoid ice burns. Do not stay in for more than 20 minutes.

Diabetes complications

Don’t do cryotherapy if you have diabetes or similar conditions that have damaged your nerves. You may not be able to feel the cold on your skin, which can lead to more nerve damage and tissue death.

CoolSculpting works by using a method called cryolipolysis — basically, by freezing fat off.

During the procedure, a small section of your body fat is inserted into an electronic tool that applies extremely cold temperatures to that section of fat to kill the fat cells.

A single CoolSculpting treatment takes about an hour for a section of fat. Over time, the fat layer that you can see under your skin is reduced. This is because the frozen fat cells are killed and then filtered out of your body through your liver a few weeks after you start treatment.

CoolSculpting is still a relatively new procedure. However, a 2023 study found that it showed promising results in aiding fat loss and skin tightening.

This method works best when it’s combined with another weight loss strategy like diet changes or exercise. But when done regularly alongside these lifestyle changes, CoolSculpting may help reduce body fat.

Cryotherapy has been linked to some health benefits, but few of them are related to weight loss. The possible side effects of cryotherapy may outweigh the largely unproven benefits of weight loss.

Speak with a doctor before you decide to try cryotherapy or related treatments like CoolSculpting. They can be expensive and time consuming. They may also not be worth it if changes to your diet and lifestyle will help you lose weight more effectively.