Heavy coffee drinkers weigh 4-5 lbs more than light coffee drinkers

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 7:34 am Email this article
Caffeine has been shown to increase metabolism. However, coffee drinkers are not leaner than people who do not drink coffee according to three out of four studies. 3 out of 4 studies found those who consumed more coffee weighed more

“Several of the studies [3 out of 4] that found coffee or tea consumption to have a protective effect [on the risk of diabetes] also found that higher levels of consumption were positively associated with body mass index (BMI), a measure of adiposity [fat]. However, one study [1 out of 4] found a negative association. It appears unlikely, therefore, that coffee or tea consumption reduces diabetes risk via an association with BMI, long recognized as an important risk factor for diabetes,” Greenberg et al (2004) noted in a paper reporting that coffee and tea consumption reduce the risk of diabetes.

BMI increases as coffee consumption increases

In fact, BMI increased slightly the more coffee that people consumed according to a study by Tuomilehto et al (2004).

Average BMI according to the amount of coffee consumed per day was as follows:

• less than or equal to 2 cups per day, BMI 26.6
• 3-4 cups per day, BMI 27.0
• 5-6 cups per day, BMI 27.1
• 7-9 cups per day, BMI 27.0
• 10 or more cups per day, BMI 27.3

Difference of 4 lbs for women, 5 lbs for men

This difference in BMI for those drinking 10 or cups per day, having an average BMI of 27.3, compared to a BMI of 26.6 for those drinking 2 cups per day or less, is a difference of about 4 pounds for a woman of average height, and 5 pounds for a man of average height.

Comments: Higher weight due to sugar-laden coffee?

I wonder if this increase in body weight associated with more coffee consumption may simply be due most people adding sugar to their coffee, which in my experience, increases appetite later in the day.

Comments: Higher weight due to less sleep?

I also would guess that the more coffee people consume, the less sleep they get. And research shows that forcing people to sleep less, increases appetite.

Restricting sleep to 4 hours per night increased calorie consumption by 30%

Recently on one of the news magazine programs on television, they had a young, lean man, in his early 20’s, only sleep four hours per night for several nights in a row.

The first day after only getting four hours of sleep per night, he consumed his normal amount of calories.

However, the second day after only getting four hours of sleep per night, he consumed 30 percent more calories than normal and had a preference for sweet, fatty foods. For example, he was ate ice cream for breakfast.

This may also help explain why increasing coffee consumption is associated with a higher body weight.

REFERENCE

Greenberg J, Axen K, Schnoll R, Boozer C. Coffee, tea and diabetes: the role of weight loss and caffeine. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2005 May 31.

AUTHOR’S CORRESPONDENCE

Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences
Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY, USA

OTHER REFERENCES

Tuomilehto J, Hu G, Bidel S, Lindstrom J, Jousilahti P. Coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus among middle-aged finnish men and women. JAMA. 2004 Mar 10, 291(10):1213-19.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Jaakko Tuomilehto
Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion
National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Coffee