Coffee Consumption and the Risk of Obesity in Korean Women

Instant coffee mixes that contain sugar and non-dairy creamer account for 80-90% of the total coffee market in Korea. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between coffee consumption and obesity in Korean women. We included 5995 women who participated in a health screening examination at the Korean National Cancer Center between 2007 and 2016. Daily coffee consumption and the use of sugar and creamer in coffee was evaluated using a 106-item food frequency questionnaire. Obesity was assessed by body mass index (BMI), and abdominal obesity was assessed by waist circumference (WC). A multiple logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of obesity according to coffee consumption. After multivariate adjustment, high coffee consumption was positively associated with obesity as measured by BMI (≥3 cups vs. no drinks, OR = 2.52; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.91-3.34; p for the trend < 0.001) and abdominal obesity as measured by WC (≥3 cups vs. no drinks, OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.59-2.79; p for the trend < 0.001). The positive association between daily coffee consumption and obesity prevalence was not altered by menopause. The amount of coffee with additives consumed per day by Korean women was positively correlated with the prevalence of obesity, but causation cannot be determined due to the cross-sectional nature of the study design. The mechanism underlying the observed relationship is yet to be elucidated.