Question

Coffee could be more than a morning pick-me-up, caffeine is proven to have health benefits

Comments

CNN Health is a source that is credible, so that's a good start. The article does pretty well to support your claim too, with a lot of information from actual doctors.

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This article claims that drinking coffee can reduce your risk of cardiometabolic disease, I believe this claim to be credible because the source is a credible outlet first of all, and on top of that the research conducted to come to this conclusion is impressive. They took all the correct steps to conduct an accurate experiment and ensure it is an accurate representation of their test groups. Because of the execution of this experiment I find this claim trustworthy and therefore true.

Answer 1

After observing, I noticed the article claim is sourced from a government website from a study lead Dr. Chaofu Ke. 

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/clinem/dgae552/7754545?login=true

I found one of the primary sources on Endocrine Society, that point out relevant content that is seen on the CNN article. For example, this quote from Endocrine Society says “Consuming three cups of coffee, or 200-300 mg caffeine, per day might help to reduce the risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity in individuals without any cardiometabolic disease,” this is seen in the CNN article. I also noticed this quote is directly stated in the CNN article, "consumers of a moderate amount of coffee (3 drinks per day) or caffeine (200-300 mg per day) had a 48.1% or 40.7% reduced risk for new-onset CM". Here is the link to the source.

https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2024/coffee-consumption-associated-with-lower-risk-of-developing-multiple-cardiometabolic-diseases

I also checked if this author was reliable, and after checking through ResearchGate, it claims he published 65 other articles. 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chaofu-Ke

Lastly, the title "Coffee could be more than a morning pick me up," has 2-3 different news site pop up with similar information such as AOL and WCVB which helps make the claim more valid. After this analysis, the claim of health benefits is true. 

https://www.wcvb.com/article/coffee-new-research-health-benefits/62240942#:~:text=A%20morning%20cup%20of%20coffee,the%20study's%20lead%20author%2C%20Dr.

https://www.aol.com/drinking-1-3-cups-coffee-132218461.html

Coffee could be more than a morning pick-me-up

Coffee could be more than a morning pick-me-up

Comments

This article done by CNN does cover the benefits of caffeine, especially in coffee, however I was concerned that this article doesn’t take into account the reality of over consumption of caffeine. Although it does note  
“ The study also didn’t take into consideration the impact of caffeine from carbonated beverages or energy drinks, meaning that researchers can’t say whether those substances would also have a positive effect, Ke said.”

I believe this piece to be very relevant because, yes the article explains the benefits for a real study with a certain amount of caffeine distributed, that doesn’t seem realistic for the amount of caffeine that most Americans actually consume.

Over all I would say this is a true to fact article, but how realistic and impactful can it be?

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I appreciate how in depth this answer is, however I am interested in the potential downsides to drinking 200 mg - 300 mg of caffeine a day. Does it inhibit sleep or cause other issues in the mind and body? If so, do the benefits outweigh the negatives?

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I appreciate how in-depth this answer is, you provided a plethora of credible sources. Using a government website with words from a legitimate doctor is really informative and great! It was a great addition when you quoted "Coffee could be more than a morning pick me up," from AOL and WCVB makes everything all the more credible. I am also curious to check out the other 4 articles you found. Plenty of sources, a great overall fact check.

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I appreciate the amount of details included in this answer. However, the AOL article appears to be ripped from CNN. The CNN article appears to be more up to date than the AOL one

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After reading the article posted in the initial claim, I can comfortably say this factcheck is reasonable and emphasizes the original claim. It is essential to not only justify the source of a claim, but to go to the extent of researching the author's other reports/claims/articles shows extensive consideration as to how reliable this source is. I really liked how you used a government website and fact-checked the author of the website. My question is, was his research similar to that of the CNN article? What similarities or differences did the two sources have in reaching the same claim? Did your article also have the same concerns and/or uncertainty as stated in the bottom of the CNN article? Assuming this author is reliable because they work for the government and are likely peer-reviewed, their research should not skew too far away from the initial claim CNN made, which is that caffeine is beneficial; I am simply just curious as to how different their research methods actually were.

Answer 2

The main claim of this article is sourced from study lead Dr. Chaofu Ke. He used reputable data from the UK Biobank (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380465/) - a "large prospective study with over 500,000 participants" that collects "extensive phenotypic and genotypic detail about its participants, including data from questionnaires, physical measures, sample assays, accelerometry, multimodal imaging, genome-wide genotyping and longitudinal follow-up for a wide range of health-related outcomes." 

More specifically, his "pool of participants included a total of 172,315 individuals who were free of any cardiometabolic diseases at baseline for the analyses of caffeine, and a corresponding 188,091 individuals for the analyses of coffee and tea consumption." - (https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2024/coffee-consumption-associated-with-lower-risk-of-developing-multiple-cardiometabolic-diseases)

Ke's claim is that moderate caffeine consumption lowers risk for cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CM), and this claim is validated with research conducted with the UK Biobank.

Dr. Chaofu Ke is a doctor of philosophy at Soochow University, in the department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Comments

This evidence is especially significant because not only is there a large sample size, but also many different forms of data collection that make this especially reliable. Although I do wonder what "moderate caffeine consumption" was defined as in this case, since it could be subjective.

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You did a great job backing up your claim with some really good evidence. I like how you not only gave all the ways that data was collected for this experiment, but you also gave an exact number from the data collected of how many participants were free of any cardiometabolic diseases for the analyses of caffeine.

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I appreciate how you incorporated the actual links to the sources in this comment. That was very helpful! I agree with you that coffee has more benefits than just waking someone up. Dr. Chaofu Ke is a reliable source and gives evidence to back up his claim.

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I really liked your evidence and justification when providing context to the source you chose to compare this CNN article to. Quoting the participant pool number and many other factors that can influence results only bolsters the validity of study lead Dr. Chaofu Ke's research. My only question is did this study mention anything about how correlation does not equal causation? The CNN article made it clear that this linkage between caffeine and health was only a connection, as there are a wide variety of other factors to take into consideration when making such a big claim. Besides this, you mentioned thoughtful justifications of your sources and this is overall a solid factcheck.

Answer 3

The main claim of this article is that caffeine can lower the risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity - coronary heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The claim is supported by reputable data. They used data from the UK Biobank. And a wide range of participants: "Includes diet and health information from over 500,000 United Kingdom residents ages 40 to 69". 

It is also stated that "Specifically, consuming three 8-ounce cups of coffee or 200–300 mg of caffeine daily was associated with a 48.1% or 40.7% lower risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity, respectively, compared to nonconsumers or those with less than 100 mg of daily caffeine intake" - the amount of coffee intake is related to the risk rate. 

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/caffeine-coffee-lowers-risk-of-cardiometabolic-diseases#Coffee,-tea-may-lower-risk-of-heart-and-metabolic-diseases

Comments

Although the data used to back up the claim in the article is reputable, the article also mentions some factors that seem to be contrary to this claim, such as "there is also strong evidence that high-dose caffeine, particularly when included in artificial concoctions like energy drinks, may actually cause harmful and even dangerous heart rhythm problems." This makes it unclear whether the author is trying to prove their claim or simply discuss the topic from a neutral stance.

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I like that you brought up a piece of the study that didn't directly relate to the headline and main claim, this develops a more wholistic view of the study. However, I don't think that these claims are contrary to each other, since the focus of the claim was on natural, medium doses of caffeine. Additionally, since it's a scientific study and article, we can assume that they are not trying to prove a claim because scientific studies are focused on testing hypotheses rather than fulfilling them.

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This article does a good job of presenting the correlation between caffeine consumption and the reduced risk of cardiometabolic diseases, citing data from the UK Biobank study. However, we have to consider the broader lifestyle and dietary habits of those included in the study. Factors like overall diet quality, physical activity levels, and genetic predispositions also play a role in the outcomes of putting them at a lower risk of heart problems. While the study suggests a positive link between moderate caffeine consumption and health benefits, various lifestyle choices also interact with diseases and their risks.

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I liked how you included specifics from the article. However I would like to bring up that this article doesn't account to other health activities and lifestyles that take place. It is hard to say for sure that this is all about caffine.

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I liked how you highlighted many of the statistics and evidence taken from the article. I think healthline.com is a semi credible source but this study doesn't seem to include other lifestyle habits and genetic factors.

Answer 4

According to the linked article, "moderate amounts of caffeine intake — defined as about three cups of coffee or tea a day — were associated with a lower risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CM)." After researching, I believe that this is true. The author seems reliable, as she has been a health and science writer for CNN for the past 7 years. The article is also recent, and was updated on September 19, 2024. The article's claim was backed up by a study done by Dr. Chaofu Ke, and after googling "Dr. Chaofu Ke caffeine health study" I found over 5 articles with similar statistics, although I was not able to find the study itself. One of these articles is from NBC News, which is a well-known and credible news source. The NBC article was written by Kaitlin Sullivan, who has published work in NBC, NPR, and The Guardian, and has won a multitude of awards for health and science journalism. The NPR article was published on September 17, and has several similar statistics to the CNN article. For example, it corroborated CNN's claim that 200-300 mg of caffeine daily can decrease reduce risk of CM by 40.7%.

From CNN: "The risk was reduced by 48.1% if they had three cups a day, or 40.7% if they had 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine daily."

From NBC: "Coffee drinkers in particular, had the lowest risk — a nearly 50% reduction — while people who got the 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine from tea or a mix of both beverages were about 40% less likely to develop cardiometabolic disease."

Here is the NBC article: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/coffee-tea-caffeine-heart-metabolic-disease-lower-risk-rcna171354

The CNN article appears to be unbiased, and states at the end that the connection between caffeine and reduced health issues is at this point only observational, and not a proven fact. In addition, the study mentioned by Dr. Chaofu Ke was done through the UK Biobank, which is an up-to-date, global site for research run by a board of trustees and several committees. Its articles include extensive, in-depth research.

Here is their website: https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/

All of this leads me to the conclusion that CNN's claim of caffeine's correlation to reduced risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity is likely not misinformation.

Comments

Right from first impressions this seems to be a very reliable fact-check. You took the time to go in depth on both the analytical number aspect and on Dr. Chaofu Ke and his background. Using and comparing both CNN and NBC helps a lot as they are both reliable with their outsourcing as well. While you included NBC, I'm curious to also read the other 4 articles you found. It is quite perceptive of you to include the backgrounds of other authors like Kaitlin Sullivan. Overall this factcheck seemed to back up previous comments strongly, helping me believe this claim.

Answer 5

Recent research indicates that moderate caffeine consumption—approximately three cups of coffee or tea daily—may be linked to a lower risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity, which encompasses conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The study reported significant reductions in risk, with a 48.1% decrease associated with three cups and a 40.7% decrease for daily caffeine intakes of 200 to 300 milligrams. However, it is crucial to note that this research is observational in nature, meaning it can identify correlations but cannot definitively establish causation. As Dr. Gregory Marcus pointed out, other lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity, may also contribute to these health outcomes. Moreover, the study did not consider caffeine sources like energy drinks or carbonated beverages, which complicates the overall conclusions about caffeine's effects. While existing literature supports the notion that moderate caffeine consumption could offer health benefits—such as a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and fewer abnormal heart rhythms—it is essential to exercise caution. The article emphasizes that higher caffeine intake does not necessarily equate to better health, as excessive consumption, particularly from sources like energy drinks, can lead to harmful effects. Thus, while moderate caffeine intake may confer health benefits, a nuanced understanding of these findings is necessary. 

To corroborate the findings from Dr. Ke's research, you can refer to a study published in the journal Circulation, which explores the association between coffee consumption and cardiovascular health. This study found that moderate coffee consumption is linked to a lower risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions. This reinforces the idea that caffeine, when consumed in moderation, may provide protective health benefits, aligning with the conclusions drawn by Dr. Ke and his team.

Comments

Going forward, please include source URLs. Thanks!

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You did a good job of expanding your thoughts on the numbers given to us in the article. It is good that you observed that caffeine comes in more ways than just coffee. There are plenty of articles out there that target the negative effects of things such as the energy drinks you mentioned. If you have any articles on that specifically, attaching those links will help back up that claim. Along with a prior comment before this I would suggest adding URLs but also specifically "Circulation" as you mentioned. Overall great observations!

Answer 6

The claim of the article is that “moderate amounts of caffeine intake - defined as about three cups of coffee or tea a day - were associated with a lower risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity” (CNN). 

In terms of the author, Madeline Holcombe has worked for CNN in multiple positions, and has written a variety of articles for the CNN Science and Wellness department. CNN is a widely reputable source, and is regarded as “mostly factual” by bias checking website mediabiasfactcheck.com. According to this website, CNN has two recorded failed fact checks in the past five years. While CNN is reported by Media Bias/Fact Check to have a left-center political bias, this leaning would not have an effect on the apolitical article in question. 

The article is based off of a study published on September 17th 2024 that investigates “Habitual Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine Consumption, Circulating Metabolites, and the Risk of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity” (The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism). After searching the study’s lead author, Dr. Chaofu Ke, I found that this study has been used by a variety of other reporting sites such as NBC News, MSN, and UPI, showing that it is widely trusted by reputable news sources. Dr. Chaofu Ke has a reliable and relevant educational background as an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Soochow University. 

The study used a large number of participants, 172,315 for caffeine analysis and 188,091 for tea and coffee analysis, allowing for more accurate data collection (The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism). All participants were free from cardiometabolic disease, ensuring that the results were unskewed by prior cardiometabolic conditions. “Researchers analyzed data from about 180,000 people in the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource that follows people long-term.” (CNN). UK Biobank is a trusted biomedical database provided by the UK government, so we can assume that the data provided is factual. The study is reliable, thorough, and accurate in its assessment and acknowledges possible constraints in the study, showing a balanced reporting. The CNN article also accurately represents the parameters and results of the study, leading me to trust that this article is true.

 

CNN - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)

Coffee could be more than a morning pick-me-up, according to new research (msn.com)

Drinking this much coffee each day tied to lower risk of heart, metabolic disease (msn.com)

Caffeinated coffee and tea lowers risk of some heart and metabolic diseases, study shows (nbcnews.com)

Moderate coffee consumption could provide health perks, study says - UPI.com

Habitual Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine Consumption, Circulating Metabolites, and the Risk of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity | The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism | Oxford Academic (oup.com)

Comments

I really like the way that you responded this claim. You did allowed us the reader to get a lot of good background data that can let us see the differences, and you also showed us a huge study that was done in this topic showing the number of people who did the study in the UK being over 180k. I agree that this is a reliable source, and that the results of this study are accurate and tell the truth.

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I think it was great how you responded to this statement/question by the original author. Checking not only CNN but also a source based in the UK gives a diverse perspective that gives the audience multiple points of view depending on where they're based. The CNN fact check also gives the reader a great look into the potential biases that could be in this claim. It says that it could have a possible leftist bias depending on what the article is about.

Answer 7

The central claim of this article is that “A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.” It states that a moderate amount of coffee, established as 3 cups daily, leads to a lower risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity. That is defined as the coexistence of two or more cardiometabolic diseases, which can include heart disease, stroke, or type two diabetes. 

Dr. Chaofu Ke, the lead researcher who is a doctor of philosophy at Soochow University, states, “Coffee and caffeine consumption may play an important protective role in almost all phases of CM development.” Researchers analyzed data from 172.315 people using an extensive database that followed people long-term. (https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2024/coffee-consumption-associated-with-lower-risk-of-developing-multiple-cardiometabolic-diseases) They found that moderate coffee drinkers had a 48.1% reduced risk, and caffeine consumers who had 200 to 300 mg a day had a 40.7% reduced risk compared with non-caffeine drinkers.

I believe this article is true because of the large sample size and the biomarkers used to support the findings. Dr. Gregory Marcus, head of cardiology at UCSF, states how these findings contribute evidence to the research around caffeine and heart health.

It's essential to consider studies like this with caution. Since it's an observational study, it only shows the correlation between heart health and caffeine intake without considering other factors that could have contributed to better heart health. (https://www.healthline.com/health-news/caffeine-coffee-lowers-risk-of-cardiometabolic-disease) 

Comments

I really like your answer to this claim, you balanced the perfect amount of facts and evidence. The articles seem trustworthy, I see that you used one from an organization and i see you used Healthline  but who is Healthline? is there a reason you didn't include any reports on this claim by any other major media sites? News oulets would help bring awareness to this so is it just not being talked about? Also how relevant is this to today? Is this a brand new discovery? If not what has been done about it?

Answer 8

Upon fact checking this claim, I immediately noticed more than 5 other articles with the same name as this CNN one from just one Google search, which increased my confidence in analyzing this claim. 

After reading this posted CNN article, I can summarize that moderate amounts of daily caffeine intake (about three-four cups of coffee/tea) can lower the risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CM) according to Dr. Chaofu Ke, associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Soochow University in Suzhou, China. After searching his name, I found that he had 31 other scholarly publications about health. He claims “The risk was reduced by 48.1% if they had three cups a day, or 40.7% if they had 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine daily, compared with people who didn’t drink or drank less than one cup, Ke said.” However, upon finishing this article, it was heavily emphasized that “the apparent protective effects do not truly exist at all and that the positive associations are all explained by some as yet unknown or unmeasured true determining factor” (Holcombe), as well as the fact that other common negative properties of caffeine, such that in energy drinks, were not considered. This brought me to question the validity of the overall claim that caffeine is a health-booster. I thought about an average person’s daily caffeine intake experience and thought about how most people accompany their coffee/tea with additives such as creamer, sugar, and syrups that don’t necessarily always improve one’s health.

An article written on Healthline was medically reviewed by Kathy W. Warwick, who is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist with more than 35 years of experience in a wide variety of healthcare settings. 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-caffeine#mood-brain-function

The article only bolstered the claim of increasing health benefits, by also mentioning that “a study linked drinking 2–3 cups of caffeinated coffee (providing about 200–300 mg caffeine) per day to a 45% lower risk of suicide” (Petre). All information was deduced from studies of participants, and well over 10 studies to provide accurate reasoning for their multiple claims on why caffeine is not as bad as we think it to be.