A study by a team in Finland has found that coffee drinkers tended to have less total and abdominal fat, more muscle, and healthier metabolic markers, despite having similar BMIs. Higher coffee intake was also linked to lower levels of certain amino acids associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes risk, they said.
Earlier research has associated coffee drinking with a reduced risk of conditions including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, yet scientists still do not fully understand the biological processes that might explain those connections.
Now, the Finnish research, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, suggests that regular coffee consumption is associated with healthier body composition, favourable metabolic markers, and distinct patterns involving sex hormones in men and women.
Researchers at the University of Oulu analysed information from 2 264 people – aged 46 – taking part in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. The team investigated how participants’ usual coffee intake related to circulating metabolites, indicators of cardiometabolic risk, and sex hormone levels.
Less fat
The coffee drinkers had lower levels of both total body fat and visceral fat, along with greater skeletal muscle mass. These differences appeared even though participants with higher and lower coffee intake had a similar BMI.
Higher coffee consumption was also associated with lower circulating concentrations of branched-chain amino acids in both men and women. When chronically elevated, these biomarkers have previously been associated with insulin resistance and a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Intake linked to different hormone patterns
Some of the clearest differences appeared among men. Greater coffee consumption was associated with a more favourable glucose-insulin profile, higher levels of total and bioavailable testosterone, and greater concentrations of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).
However, free testosterone and the free androgen index were modestly lower.
The hormonal associations were less extensive in women. Higher coffee consumption was mainly associated with increased SHBG and lower measures of free androgens.
“Coffee is consumed by millions of people daily, yet we still know surprisingly little about how it relates to our metabolism and hormones. What stood out in our findings was a distinct hormonal signature that didn’t disappear even after we took into account BMI and lifestyle factors, with several of these associations differing between men and women,” said Luca Verroest, lead author of the study and Doctoral Researcher at the University of Oulu.
Hormones could offer clue
The findings raise the possibility that hormonal pathways could help explain some of the previously observed relationship between coffee consumption and metabolic health. Because the research was observational, however, it cannot establish that drinking coffee directly caused any of the biological differences identified in the study.
The setting also makes the research especially relevant. Finland ranks among the world’s highest coffee-consuming countries, with average annual consumption of 11.8kg per person.
Researchers say the results offer a starting point for studies designed to determine whether coffee itself produces these biological changes and, if so, which compounds may be responsible.
Scientists are currently investigating these questions using animal models, with the longer-term aim of moving toward human intervention studies.
Additional research will be necessary before the findings can be used to shape dietary recommendations.
Study details
Associations of habitual coffee intake with testosterone and cardiometabolic markers: the Northern Finland birth cohort 1966 study.
Luca Verroest, Jari Jokelainen, Shalini Choudhary et al.
Published in the European Journal of Nutrition on 16 July 2026
Abstract
Purpose
Coffee is a widely consumed source of bioactive compounds globally, yet its associations with circulating metabolites, sex hormones, and cardiometabolic markers remain incompletely characterised. We investigated these associations in a large population-based cohort, with particular attention to sex-specific hormonal profiles and metabolomic signatures.
Methods
Cross-sectional data from 2,264 participants (47% men) of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) at age 46 were analysed using sex-stratified Spearman correlations and multivariable linear regression models adjusted for BMI, educational attainment, smoking, physical activity, and alcohol intake.
Results
Higher coffee intake groups showed lower total and visceral fat and higher skeletal muscle mass, while BMI was comparable across groups. Inverse correlations were observed between coffee intake and circulating branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in both sexes. In men, higher coffee intake correlated with a more favourable glucose–insulin profile. Multivariable-adjusted models revealed a distinct hormonal pattern: positive associations with total testosterone (β = +0.29 nmol/L per cup/day), bioavailable testosterone, and sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG), alongside inverse associations with free testosterone and the free androgen index (FAI). In women, hormonal associations were more limited, with positive associations for SHBG and inverse associations for free testosterone and FAI.
Conclusions
Higher habitual coffee intake groups showed a leaner body composition, correlated inversely with circulating BCAAs in both sexes, and were independently associated with a sex-specific hormonal profile that may be metabolically relevant, particularly in men. Future longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to establish causality and identify the coffee-derived bioactive compounds involved.
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