Add the Cream, Hold the Sugar: New Study Finds Link Between Coffee Preferences and Weight Gain

Many people can't function properly without their morning caffeine fix. While your daily cup of joe may help jumpstart your energy, depending on how you order, it might also be hindering your weight loss goals.

A recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition outlined the findings. Researchers set out to examine how coffee consumption, caffeine intake, and weight changes are affected by the addition of sugar, cream, or nondairy coffee whiteners in our coffee. In the end, they found that each cup per day in unsweetened coffee was associated with a reduction in weight gain, while "the habits of adding cream or nondairy coffee whitener were not significantly linked to weight changes."

The good news doesn't hold up for those who like sugar in their coffee, however. The team discovered that adding a teaspoon of sugar was associated with weight gain, regardless of whether coffee or caffeine intake increased or decreased. For both the effects of adding cream and sugar, the findings suggested that the results are more extreme in younger people and those with higher baseline BMI.

"An increase in intake of unsweetened caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee was inversely associated with weight gain," the study's authors explained. "The addition of sugar to coffee counteracted coffee’s benefit for possible weight management. To the contrary, adding cream or coffee whitener was not associated with greater weight gain."

Related: How coffee can supercharge your sugar cravings

If consumed the right way, coffee can be a great player in one's weight loss journey—as long as you can handle it unsweetened or black.