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RESEARCH AND PRACTICE: Lisa R. Young and Marion Nestle The Contribution of Expanding Portion Sizes to the US Obesity Epidemic Am J Public Health 2002; 92: 246-249 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Coffee: Grounds for Concern

Olivia M. Thompson, Mary K. Serdula, Carol Ballew   (7 June 2002)

Coffee: Grounds for Concern 7 June 2002
Olivia M. Thompson, Research Fellow Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mary K. Serdula, Carol Ballew Send letter to journal: Re: Coffee: Grounds for Concern oat4{at}cdc.gov Olivia M. Thompson, et al.	Letter to the Editor Coffee: Grounds for Concern Olivia M. Thompson, MPH, CHES, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA Mary K. Serdula, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA Carol Ballew, PhD, Alaska Native Epidemiology Center, Anchorage, AK 1. Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop K-26, 4770 Buford highway NE, Atlanta GA 30341. Phone: 770-488-5377 FAX: 770-488-6027 oat4@cdc.gov mks1@cdc.gov cballew@anhb.org 2. Correspondence to Ms. Thompson Text word count: 389 Letter to the Editor Coffee: Grounds for Concern Young and Nestle’s article "The Contribution of Expanding Portion Sizes to the US Obesity Epidemic" examined portion weights of selected foods and beverages including those purchased away-from-home. They found that most portion weights had increased since 1970 and now exceeded US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards (1). We think that their report has merit, and we would like to extend their observations to include gourmet coffees--so called premium coffees, espresso-based beverages, and blended and frozen coffee drinks. Traditional, non-gourmet coffee is a familiar beverage with negligible calories, but the face of coffee is rapidly changing. Gourmet coffees--many of which are decidedly not low-calorie beverages--have become increasingly popular within the past several years (2). The percentage of adults surveyed who drank gourmet coffee increased from 51% in 1999 to 62% in 2001 (2). Gourmet coffee was typically consumed away- from-home in places including specialty coffee shops and eating places, and in situations such as traveling (2). Away-from-home gourmet coffee portions tend to be larger than at-home coffee portions. For example, coffee shops usually offer beverage portion size options of 8, 12, 16, and 20 fluid ounces (fl oz) (3,4), while the traditional coffee cup holds less than 8 fl oz. Depending on portion size, milk (skim and 2%) -based coffee drinks such as lattes or cappuccinos prepared in specialty coffee shops usually contain 100 to 200 calories, and mocha coffee drinks (skim and 2%) usually contain 200 to 400 calories (3). More elaborate milk-based coffee drinks range from about 250 to 500 calories (3). If options for additional chocolate and whipped cream are added, caloric content can exceed 600 calories (5). Because traditional coffee is a low-calorie drink, and because some gourmet coffee drinks are available in low-fat varieties, consumers may falsely believe they are drinking a low-calorie beverage when they have a gourmet coffee drink. Most coffee drinks sold away-from-home are not labeled for calorie and fat content. Although the FDA does not have the authority to require nutrition labeling information for coffee drinks sold away-from-home, states do have such authority (6). Providing nutrition information for these drinks could be a powerful wake-up call to regular consumers of gourmet coffees. REFERENCES 1. Young LR, Nestle M. The contribution of expanding portion sizes to the US obesity epidemic. Am J Public Health. 2002;92:246-249. 2. The National Coffee Association of USA, Incorporated. National Coffee Drinking Trends 2001. New York, NY: The National Coffee Association, 2001. 3. Personnel Communication, Regional Coffee Retailer, 3/19/02. 4. Personnel Communication, International Coffee Retailer, 3/29/02. 5. First DataBank, Inc., A Subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation. Nutritionist Five, Version 2.1, Nutrition Analysis Software. San Bruno, CA: First DataBank, Inc., A Subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation, 1998. 6. US Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Food Labeling Questions and Answers: Volume II: A Guide for Restaurants and Other Retail Establishments, August 1995. Available at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/qaintro.html. Accessed March 18, 2002.