Korean people drank coffee 12.3 times a week or 1.8 cups of coffee a day in 2013. (image: Kobizmedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sep. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans are likely to drink more coffee than any other food. As the consumption of coffee has increased, calorie intake from coffee has quadrupled for ten years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Korea surveying 3,805 adults over the age of 19 announced that Korean people drank coffee 12.3 times a week or 1.8 cups of coffee a day in 2013.
The number of coffee consumption per week is followed by Korean cabbage Kimchi (11.8 times), multigrain rice (9.5 times), white rice (7.0 times), other Kimchi products (4.5 times) and milk (2.7 times). Compared with 2012, the weekly number of coffee consumption in 2013 increased from 12.1 times while the number of other foods consumption decreased a bit.
As an increasing number of Korean consumers drink coffee, energy intake from coffee has also increased. The proportion of coffee in men’s total energy intake quadrupled to 2.3 percent in 2010 to 2013 from 0.6 percent in 1998. In case of women, the proportion also increased by 3.7 folds to 2.2 percent in 2010 to 2012 from 0.6 percent in 1998.
Aside from coffee, calorie intake from other beverages such as fruit juice and soda has grown by 2.5 folds for men and 2.3 folds for women since 1998. In contrast, energy source from white rice has rapidly decreased to 35.1 percent from 46.6 percent for men and to 34.4 percent from 46.0 percent for women.
“Even though it is hard to make certain whether coffee is harmful for our health or not, it is quite sure that coffee with too much sugar or cream is not so good for our health,” said Kim Hyun-ja, a researcher in the CDC Korea.
By Veronica Huh (veronicah@koreabizwire.com)
