Good news for those of us who treat coffee like a food group: a new study of 2,264 people found coffee drinking was linked to less abdominal fat and more muscle mass. So that morning cup might be doing more than keeping you functional until 10 a.m.

The numbers were actually kind of wild. People who drank five or more cups a day had around 6% less visceral fat than non-drinkers, and they also had the highest muscle mass of the group. Among men specifically, higher coffee consumption was linked to a better glucose-insulin profile and higher bioavailable testosterone, which my mom (an actual doctor, I ask her about this stuff constantly) says basically means better blood sugar handling. Nobody's fully sure of the mechanism yet but the usual suspects are caffeine's effect on metabolism and possibly compounds in coffee that influence how your body stores fat.

Inc. has the full breakdown here if you want to dig into the numbers yourself.

Before you sprint to the coffee pot thinking you've found a shortcut though, pump the brakes. This is an association, not a cause-and-effect thing. People who drink coffee might also just live differently in general and studies like this can't fully untangle that. It's one study, and one study never settles anything no matter how good the headline sounds.

My mom's take was pretty much what you'd expect: it's interesting, it's not a reason to change your habits in either direction, and if you're adding cream and sugar to the point where your coffee is basically a milkshake, the fat association probably doesn't apply to you. Fair.

And real talk, I drink an ungodly amount of coffee. In my twenties it was energy drinks and gas station swill, which is probably why my kitchen counter was constantly covered in articles my mom left about my impending health collapse. Switched to straight black coffee years ago and never looked back. Do I have less abdominal fat because of the coffee or because I stopped eating fast food five times a week? Yeah, probably the second one, and that's the association problem in a nutshell.

But my practical read: if you already drink coffee, this is a nice little bonus on top of the energy and the mood lift. If you don't, this isn't a reason to start. And if you're drinking six caramel lattes a day, the sugar is doing more work against you than the coffee is doing for you.

Your waistline and your muscles apparently have no complaints. Black if you can manage it.