U.S. adults consumed nearly 40% more calories from coffee drinks in 2018 than they did in 2003, despite drinking roughly the same amount of coffee, according to a new study involving more than 30,000 people.
The biggest driver of the increase was nondairy coffee creamer, which surpassed both sugar and dairy milk as a source of calories in coffee drinks during the span.
Published Oct. 19 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the study found that average daily calorie intake from coffee rose from 43 to 60 over the 15-year period, while coffee consumption remained relatively stable at approximately 13 ounces per person daily.
Led by researchers at Tufts University, the study analyzed dietary data from 30,459 adults participating in the federally administered National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
The researchers found that nondairy creamer contributed an average of approximately 19 calories daily in 2018, up from about 8 calories in 2003. By comparison, sugar and syrups contributed 16 calories daily in 2018, followed by dairy milk at 11 calories.
“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,” Fang Fang Zhang, senior author of the study, said in an announcement from the university. “The more we know about what people are consuming, the better we can understand the link between nutrition and overall health.”
Study lead author Yongyi Pan, a Ph.D. candidate at Tufts, noted that nondairy creamers can be high in saturated fat, which may help explain their growing contribution to calorie intake.
Changing Consumer Trends
The study examined eight rounds of nationally representative federal nutrition survey data collected between 2003 and 2018. Participants reported what they ate and drank through two 24-hour dietary recalls, allowing researchers to estimate the quantities and calories associated with ingredients added to coffee.
Dairy milk remained the most commonly added ingredient by weight in 2018, averaging 21.4 grams per person daily, followed by nondairy creamer at 8.1 grams and sugar at 4.4 grams.
However, the most significant changes involved nondairy additions. Average daily nondairy creamer consumption increased from 3.37 to approximately 8 grams, while nondairy milk consumption rose from 0.27 to 2.45 grams. The researchers treated nondairy creamers and nondairy milks as separate categories.
Consumption of dairy milk, sugar and sugar substitutes did not change significantly over the period studied.
The analysis also found higher coffee consumption among men, non-Hispanic White adults and people with higher incomes. Adults reporting less sleep or longer working hours also tended to drink more coffee.
Additions and Health Implications
The findings add to research suggesting that the ingredients added to coffee can substantially change its nutritional profile.
A 2026 study involving more than 167,000 adults linked unsweetened coffee, but not sweetened coffee, to reduced cardiovascular disease risk. Similarly, research published in 2025 found that adding sugar or artificial sweeteners weakened coffee’s association with reduced type 2 diabetes risk.
Another recent review exploring coffee and high-fructose diets suggested that coffee compounds may help counteract certain metabolic effects of high fructose consumption. A 2025 Tufts study involving more than 46,000 U.S. adults also linked black coffee and coffee with relatively little added sugar or saturated fat to reduced mortality risk. Coffee containing higher amounts of those ingredients did not show the same association.
The new study did not examine health outcomes. Rather, it documented consumption trends using self-reported dietary information, which can be affected by incomplete reporting and day-to-day changes in eating and drinking habits.
The researchers also cautioned that the data end in 2018, meaning the findings do not establish whether the trend toward higher-calorie coffee drinks continued in subsequent years.
Recent retail data do point to continued growth in the U.S. creamer market. According to 2025 sales data published by the Good Food Institute, plant-based coffee creamers gained 2% in both dollar and unit sales, while conventional creamers recorded 4% dollar growth and 2% unit growth.
The authors — Yongyi Pan, Bingjie Zhou and Fang Fang Zhang — declared no conflicts of interest.
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