Coffee drinkers live longer, previous research shows, but why? Healthy ingredients like antioxidants? Or is the average coffee drinker living a healthy life anyway?

American scientists from the University of California, among others, allowed a hundred volunteers to drink coffee on some days and not on others. The researchers measured how the body reacted to this.

Most measurement results are not that exciting. Yes, volunteers with coffee slept a little, but not much.

1000 extra steps per day

What stood out? The group was very active during the coffee days. On average, they took 1000 more steps on those days than on the days they weren’t allowed coffee.

Exercise has been shown to improve lifespan. And an extra 1,000 steps per day was ‘significantly associated’ with extra life expectancy in coffee drinkers, the researchers write in the journal. New England Journal of Medicine.

It’s not clear from the study why the subjects walked more. Maybe a few cups a day made them more motivated or active.

Or maybe those extra 1000 steps are steps to the coffee machine or the coffee shop down the street. If so, you can leave the coffee alone and ‘just’ walk around the block.

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