Americans are getting more calories from coffee, even though the amount they consume has remained virtually unchanged in recent years. The main reason is the growing use of plant-based creamers, which have overtaken sugar and dairy products as the leading source of calories from coffee additives. This is the conclusion reached by researchers at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
The researchers analyzed dietary data from approximately 30,000 Americans aged 20 and older collected between 2003 and 2018. The findings were published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
During this period, average coffee consumption remained stable at around 370 milliliters per day. However, the number of calories consumed from coffee and its additives increased from 43 to 60 kilocalories per day.
In 2018, non-dairy creamers made the largest contribution to the calorie content of coffee drinks, accounting for an average of 18.5 kilocalories per day. Sugar ranked second, at 16 kilocalories, followed by regular milk, which contributed 11 kilocalories. By comparison, in 2003, non-dairy creamers accounted for an average of just 7.71 kilocalories per day.
The researchers also found that consumption of non-dairy coffee additives nearly tripled, rising from 3.65 to 10.5 grams per day. The increase was particularly pronounced for plant-based creamers and non-dairy milk. Meanwhile, consumption of regular milk and sugar remained virtually unchanged.
“We found that non-dairy creamers added to coffee now surpass both sugar and dairy products in their contribution to the overall calorie content of coffee beverages,” said the study’s lead author, graduate student Yongyi Pan. According to Pan, the trend may be partly explained by the high saturated fat content of some types of non-dairy creamer.
The researchers also found that people who slept less or worked longer hours tended to drink more coffee on average. However, coffee consumption was virtually the same among people with healthier and less healthy diets.
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