Americans are drinking about the same amount of coffee as they were 15 years ago, but the calories in their cups have increased.
Non-dairy creamer has become the biggest source of added calories in coffee, surpassing both sugar and traditional dairy.
Researchers found that daily coffee additions have changed over time, with non-dairy creamers and plant-based milk becoming more popular.
For many people, coffee is a daily ritual. Whether it's a simple cup of black coffee or a more elaborate drink with cream, sweeteners, and flavored additions, what goes into that cup can make a difference in its nutritional content.
A new study from researchers at Tufts University suggests that while Americans haven't significantly changed how much coffee they drink, they are adding more calories to it.
The research, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, found that average daily coffee consumption remained relatively steady between 2003 and 2018. However, the calories coming from coffee increased during that period, largely because of growing use of non-dairy creamers.
“Coffee consumption has been associated with several health benefits. However, coffee is often accompanied by the addition of sugar and cream, which can contribute to an increased consumption of calories from added sugar and saturated fat,” researcher Fang Zhang said in a news release.
“The more we know about what people are consuming, the better we can understand the link between nutrition and overall health.”
How researchers examined Americans' coffee habits
To better understand how coffee consumption has changed, researchers examined dietary information from approximately 30,000 U.S. adults ages 20 and older.
The team used eight consecutive cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), covering the years 2003 through 2018. Participants provided two 24-hour dietary recalls, which asked them to report what they ate and drank during the previous day.
Researchers separated coffee into two categories: coffee consumed without additional ingredients and coffee containing additions.
They then looked at several types of additions, including dairy milk, cream, non-dairy milk, non-dairy creamer, sugar, syrups, sugar substitutes, and other ingredients.
This allowed the team to track not only how much coffee people were drinking, but also which ingredients were contributing to its nutritional content.
Non-dairy creamer is adding the most calories
The researchers found that Americans consumed roughly 13 ounces of coffee per day throughout the study period. However, the average calories from coffee increased from 43 per day in 2003 to 60 in 2018.
Non-dairy creamer was the biggest contributor to that increase. By 2018, it accounted for an estimated 18.5 calories per day, compared with 16 calories from sugar and 11 from dairy milk.
Consumption of non-dairy additions also increased considerably, rising from an average of 3.65 grams per day in 2003 to 10.5 grams in 2018. Non-dairy creamer and non-dairy milk both contributed to that growth.
Researchers noted that some non-dairy creamers can contain significant amounts of saturated fat, which may help explain their growing contribution to coffee's calorie content.
For consumers, the findings are a reminder that what's added to coffee can be just as important as the coffee itself. Switching to a non-dairy option doesn't automatically mean a drink contains fewer calories or less saturated fat. Checking nutrition labels and paying attention to serving sizes can help people better understand what's going into their daily cup.
The researchers also acknowledged that the study relied on participants remembering and reporting what they consumed, which can introduce some inaccuracies. The findings describe broader consumption patterns rather than proving that any particular coffee addition causes health problems.