The prevalence of obesity has received global attention in recent years, and lipid consumption has been considered as one of the direct reasons for obesity and related diseases. However, increasing evidence has indicated that edible vegetable oils could exert non-negligible physiological benefits in the daily diet, including suppression of appetite, lowering of blood lipids, prevention of adipocyte synthesis, and reduction of inflammatory response. Bioactive phytochemicals in lipids and oils, such as tocopherol, phenolic compounds, and phytosterol, play an important role in these effects according to in vitro and in vivo studies. For these reasons, the present review focusses on minor bioactive components in oil and their anti-obesity effects, aiming to provide a systematic overview of the relationships between these minor components and obesity and related diseases.