Your Daily Coffee Intake Could Lead to Less Fat and More Muscle, Suggests Study
Coffee aficionados, rejoice! A significant new study from Finland, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, provides another reason to appreciate your daily cup of joe. The research indicates that habitual coffee drinkers tend to have lower total and visceral body fat, increased skeletal muscle mass, and healthier metabolic markers, even when their overall Body Mass Index (BMI) is comparable to those who consume less coffee.
The study, carried out at the University of Oulu, scrutinized data from 2,264 participants, all aged 46, from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. The focus was on the association between habitual coffee consumption and circulating metabolites, cardiometabolic risk markers, and sex hormones.
Key findings revealed that both men and women with higher coffee intake had lower circulating levels of branched-chain amino acids. These are biomarkers previously associated with insulin resistance and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The most significant differences were observed in men, where higher coffee consumption correlated with a more favorable glucose-insulin profile and increased levels of total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).
However, the researchers emphasized that this study is observational and does not establish a causal relationship between coffee and these changes. Further research is required before these findings can influence dietary recommendations. Nevertheless, these results contribute significantly to the growing body of evidence associating coffee with a range of wellness benefits beyond alertness. The study received support from the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network NUTRIOME.