World Coffee Day today – 3 to 4 cups a day can lead to weight loss

World Coffee Day today, October 1st and its honorary today has the favorite daily drink of millions of people with the Greeks especially loving it.

However, scientists and the general public are deeply concerned about the health effects of coffee consumption. We often hear, for example, that coffee reduces appetite and helps to lose weight, while others claim that coffee consumption can lead to an increase in their appetite, ie the opposite effect.

Researchers from the Biology Laboratory of the Medical School of EKPA, in collaboration with the GENOSOPHY network and the University of West Attica, investigated these conflicting views and concluded that Consumption of 3-4 cups of coffee a day is associated with reduced body weight, but only in people with a specific genetic background.

Coffee: The research and conclusions of a Greek study

Their research, published in the internationally recognized International Journal of Obesity, was based on detailed epidemiological, genetic and experimental data from 300 Greek volunteers. The volunteers underwent genetic testing with the desire to formulate, with the help of a dietitian, an individualized diet plan based on their genetic profile. They answered questions about their eating habits, appetite and other lifestyle elements which found interesting correlations between coffee consumption, genetic profile and body weight. The researchers also studied the effect of specific amounts of coffee on the choice of type and amount of food and on the secretion of appetite-controlling hormones, such as asprosin and leptin, in a group of volunteers.

As stated in the APE-MPE, the person in charge of the study, Professor of Biology & Genetics and Director of the Biology Laboratory of the Medical School of EKPA, Aristidis Iliopoulos, “The results show us how Coffee reduces appetite and can help regulate weight when two “genetic conditions” are met“: Have a genetic variant in the CYP1A2 gene that leads to increased caffeine metabolism and at the same time a genetic predisposition to obesity”.

The good news he adds, is that this “genetic combination” is not rare in the Greek population. As the study showed, Greeks who wear this combination consume more coffee, state that coffee reduces their appetite and have a lower body weight than those who do not consume coffee. The research team also found a possible link between coffee and the regulation of appetite through the hormone asprosine, the levels of which vary depending on the genetic profile of coffee metabolism.

“The results of the study indicate that 3-4 cups of coffee can be included in diets for weight management “in people with an increased predisposition to obesity and a genetic profile of high caffeine metabolism,” said Dr. Kalliopi Guskou, the first author of the article.

Researchers plan to further study the types of coffee and its ingredients that have the best effect on health. This study also paves the way for scientists to identify molecular mechanisms for the treatment of obesity, which has reached epidemic proportions in recent years.

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