People who drink coffee may have a new excuse to continue consuming this ancient drink. It seems to reduce the amount of body fat and therefore the risk of type 2 diabetes.
According to research published in the journal BMJ Medicine, a high level of caffeine in the blood could reduce the amount of body fat a person has and their risk of type 2 diabetes. The findings, write the researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. (Sweden), probably warrant exploring the potential role of calorie-free caffeinated beverages in reducing the risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Previously published research indicates that drink 3 to 5 cups daily of coffee, a rich source of caffeine, is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the researchers note. An average cup of coffee contains around 70 to 150 mg of caffeine.
But most of the research published to date has focused on observational studies, which cannot reliably establish causal effects, because of the other potentially influential factors involved, the researchers note.
Furthermore, it is difficult to tease out the specific effects of caffeine from the other compounds included in caffeinated beverages and foods, they add.
To try to overcome these problems, the researchers used Mendelian randomization to find out what effect higher levels of caffeine in the blood have on body fat and the long-term risks of type 2 diabetes and major cardiovascular diseases (coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure and irregularity) heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation).
Mendelian randomization is a technique that uses genetic variants as proxies for a particular risk factor, in this case caffeine blood levels, to obtain genetic evidence to support a particular outcome, in this study, weight (BMI) and risk of type 2 diabetes.
key genes
The researchers analyzed the role of two common genetic variants of the CYP1A2 and AHR genes in nearly 10,000 people of predominantly European descent, participating in 6 long-term studies. The genes CYP1A2 y AHR they are associated with the rate of metabolism of caffeine in the body.
People who carry gene variants associated with slower caffeine metabolism drink, on average, less coffee but have higher levels of caffeine in their blood than people who carry it. metabolize quickly to reach or retain the levels necessary for its stimulant effects.
The results of the analysis showed that higher genetically predicted levels of caffeine in the blood were associated with lower weight (BMI) and body fat. Such levels were also associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
Next, the researchers used Mendelian randomization to further explore the extent to which any effect of caffeine on type 2 diabetes risk might be primarily driven by concurrent weight loss.
Our finding suggests that caffeine could explain the inverse association between coffee consumption and type 2 diabetes risk.
The results showed that weight loss drove almost half (43%) of the effect of caffeine on the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The researchers acknowledge several limitations to their findings, including the use of only two gene variants and the inclusion of only people of European descent.
But caffeine is known to speed up metabolism, increase fat burning and reduce appetite, they explain. And it has been estimated that a daily intake of 100 mg increases energy expenditure by around 100 calories per day, which could consequently reduce the risk of developing obesity.
“Our Mendelian randomization finding suggests that caffeine could, at least in part, explain the inverse association between coffee consumption and type 2 diabetes risk,” the researchers write.
“Randomized controlled trials are warranted to assess whether calorie-free caffeine-containing beverages could play a role in reducing the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes,” they conclude.