Coffee Drinkers Like Their joe One Cup at a Time

Most consumers would agree that their morning doesn't officially start until they've enjoyed their first cup of joe--whether they brew at home, at work, or stop at their favorite coffeehouse. While instant, ground or whole bean coffee are the most popular choices for the at home barista, single-cup coffee still has an audience, as recent Mintel research reveals that 17% of coffee drinkers say they prefer their coffee one cup at a time.

 Not surprisingly, the most popular draw for single-cup coffee lovers is convenience. Seventy-nine percent of those who enjoy single-cup coffee agree that they drink it because it's convenient to brew. Meanwhile, 60% cite the ability to brew a hot cup every time instead of reheating a full pot and 55% say they like the variety available in pods.

"Those aged 18-44 are notably more likely than their older counterparts to cite convenience as a reason for using pod-style machines," says Garima Goel Lal, senior analyst at Mintel. "This is likely a reflection of the fact that for younger adults, coffee is often seen as an on-the-go beverage that can provide a needed energy boost."

In addition to convenience, flavor and value are also important to single-cup coffee drinkers. Thirty-nine percent report that brewing at home with a pod-style machine is cheaper than visiting a coffeehouse, while 20% believe single-cup coffee tastes better than the ground variety and 38% say a pod-style machine produces consistent taste each time compared to coffee brewed with a traditional coffeemaker.

"A key driver of sales growth in the coffee category is innovation. The single-cup segment of the coffee business is driving growth and is likely to continue to contribute to gains for the foreseeable future," adds Garima Goel Lal. "Consumers in the US, the European Union, and elsewhere have been using espresso machines to make single cups of coffee for many years, and single-cup machines provide similar results, but are less complicated to operate than an espresso machine."

So why aren't more consumers using pod-style coffee machines? Price seems to be one of the main deterrents, as 36% of those who don't drink single-cup coffee say the machines are too expensive and 30% believe pods are more expensive than brewing ground coffee.

SOURCE Mintel

Global food prices fell last quarter and may continue declining this year as supplies increase

Global food prices fell last quarter and may continue declining this year as supplies increase, according to the World Bank.

The bank’s food-price index decreased 8 percent in the three months through December, led by staples including wheat and corn, the lender said today in Washington. By the end of 2011, the index was 7 percent below its year-earlier level, the World Bank said.

The data follow a similar index published by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization earlier this month that touched a 14-month low in December. Falling prices may give central banks greater scope to ease monetary policy as the European financial crisis hurts global growth.

“Prospects for a decline in 2012 prices are favorable on account of increasing supplies,” the World Bank said in its Food Price Watch publication. “Yet, global prices remain high and volatile, markets tight, and oil prices uncertain.”

OBESITY LINKED TO HIGHER AMOUNTS OF PAIN

Obese individuals experience significantly higher amounts of pain compared to their normal-weight counterparts, according to a new study published in the journal Obesity.

Researchers at Stony Book University conducted a large-scale study of more than 1 million Americans to investigate the association between obesity and pain. Researchers calculated respondents’ body mass index (BMI) based on questions regarding height and weight. Respondents answered questions about pain, including if they “experienced pain yesterday."

Sixty three percent

Of the 1,010,762 people who responded to the survey, 63% were classified as overweight (38%) or obese (25%). Obese respondents were further classified into one of three obesity levels as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). In comparison to individuals with low to normal weight, the overweight group reported 20% higher rates of pain. The percent increase of reported pain in comparison to the normal weight group grew rapidly in the obese groups: 68% higher for Obese 1 group, 136% higher for Obese 2 group, and 254% higher for Obese 3 group.

“We wanted to explore this relationship further by checking to see if it was due to painful diseases that cause reduced activity, which in turn causes increased weight," said Joan E. Broderick, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral science and School of Public Health at Stony Brook University, and lead investigator of a National Institutes of Health-funded study on how arthritis patients manage their own pain. “We found that ‘pain yesterday’ was definitely more common among people with diseases that cause bodily pain. Even so, when we controlled for these specific diseases, the weight-pain relationship held up. This finding suggests that obesity alone may cause pain, aside from the presence of painful diseases."

The researchers offered several explanations for the close obesity/pain relationship, including the possibility that having excess fat in the body triggers complex physiological processes that result in inflammation and pain; depression, often experienced by obese individuals, is also linked to pain; and medical conditions that cause pain, such as arthritis, might result in reduced levels of exercise thereby resulting in weight gain.

The study also revealed as people age, excess weight is associated with even more pain, which suggests a developmental process.

Eating a high-fiber diet does not lower a person's risk of diverticulosis, but a low-fiber diet might

Eating a high-fiber diet does not lower a person's risk of diverticulosis, but a low-fiber diet might, according to a new study that contradicts what doctors have believed for decades.

Diverticulosis is a disease of the intestines in which pouches develop in the colon wall.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine analyzed data from more than 2,100 patients, aged 30 to 80, who underwent outpatient colonoscopy between 1998 and 2010. The patients were interviewed about their diet, bowel movements and level of physical activity.

Patients with the lowest fiber intake were 30 percent less likely to develop diverticulosis than those with the highest intake, according to the study published in the February issue of the journal Gastroenterology.

The findings also showed that constipation was not a risk factor and that having more frequent bowel movements was linked to an increased risk. Those with more than 15 bowel movements a week were 70 percent more likely to develop diverticulosis than those with fewer than seven bowel movements a week, the investigators noted.

However, while the study uncovered an association between fiber consumption, bowel movements and diverticulosis risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

In addition, no association was seen between diverticulosis and physical inactivity or intake of fat or red meat.

"While it is too early to tell patients what to do differently, these results are exciting for researchers," study lead researcher Dr. Anne Peery, a fellow in the gastroenterology and hepatology division, said in a university news release. "Figuring out that we don't know something gives us the opportunity to look at disease processes in new ways."

Diverticulosis affects about one-third of U.S. adults older than 60, according to the news release. Most cases don't cause symptoms, but the condition can cause complications such as bleeding, infections, intestinal perforations and even death.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about diverticulosis and diverticulitis.