So HealthSaver is back…if you recall, they ran a survey at the end of 2007 to determine the most and least caffeinated American cities. The big winner was Chicago. How did things go this time around?
Tampa is the big winner this year, unseating Chicago who drops to #3. But my own city of Atlanta…man, it’s a sorry tale, I must say. We got handed our ass: while the least caffeinated city is Riverside/San Bernardino, second to last–“following closely” to San Bernardino–is Atlanta. I am so ashamed. Look, folks, I know how much I consume…did everybody else just quit while I wasn’t looking? We were fifth in the country last year!! Criminy.
Seattle, which didn’t place in the top five last time is now #3. I guess they really took umbrage to the finalists last time and got cracking on it. No pun intended.
“The survey considered numerous caffeine sources, including coffee, tea, sodas, energy drinks, chocolate, pain relievers and caffeine pills.” Which could mean that the folks in Chicago are just really coked up on pain medication…who knows? But if you just do caffeinated coffee, then Seattle is the winner second year in a row. So there’s that.
“55 percent of residents surveyed saying this elixir of alertness would be the most difficult caffeine product to give up.” That’s down 3% from last year, but I suppose now that there’s five energy drink brands for every man woman and child in this country, that could be attributed to people moving off of coffee to “the hard stuff.”
[ad#rightpost]Also, “Nearly one-half (49 percent) of all respondents nationwide said they drink caffeinated coffee every day, while cola and tea tied with a 20 percent daily consumption rate. Sweets containing chocolate ranked fourth among caffeine products, with a 13 percent daily consumption, the survey found.”
The full list of cities they surveyed is below, along with a bunch of other rankings. So like always, if your town isn’t listed…I don’t know what you do to get on the caffeine radar. And Atlanta. Man, I’m so ashamed.
Here’s the buzz on the most and least wired cities for 2008
Most Caffeinated Cities:
1. Tampa
2. Seattle
3. Chicago
4. New York
5. Los Angeles
Least Caffeinated Cities:
1. Riverside/San Bernardino
2. Atlanta
3. San Diego
4. Minneapolis/St. Paul
5. Dallas
Some survey findings:
Most Coffee Consumption, Regular coffee & specialty coffee drinks:
1. Seattle
2. Miami
3. San Francisco
4. Los Angeles
5. Tampa
Least Coffee Consumption, Regular coffee & speciality coffee drinks:
1. St. Louis
2. Riverside/San Bernadino
3. Houston
4. Phoenix
5. Detroit
Most Cola Consumption (Regular Coke, regular Pepsi, Mountain Dew):
1. Houston
2. Minneapolis/St. Paul
3. St. Louis
4. Chicago
5. Washington D.C.
Least Cola Consumption (Regular Coke, regular Pepsi, Mountain Dew)
1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. Riverside/San Bernadino
4. Boston
5. San Diego
Most Tea Consumption (Green tea, iced tea, black tea):
1. New York
2. Tampa
3. Baltimore
4. Boston
5. Atlanta
Least Tea Consumption (Green tea, iced tea, black tea):
1. Minneapolis/St. Paul
2. Miami
3. San Francisco
4. Detroit
5. Seattle
Most Chocolate Consumption (Candy, ice cream, cake, cookies):
1. Seattle
2. Phoenix
3. Chicago
4. Detroit
5. Boston
Least Chocolate Consumption (Candy, ice cream, cake, cookies):
1. Atlanta
2. Dallas
3. Riverside/San Bernardino
4. San Diego
5. Philadelphia
Most Energy Drink Consumption (Red Bull, Monster, etc.):
1. Atlanta (well at least we came first in something–geez…)
2. Riverside/San Bernadino
3. Tampa
4. Seattle
5. San Diego
Least Energy Drink Consumption (Red Bull, Monster, etc.):
1. Dallas (tie)
1. Baltimore (tie)
3. Washington D.C.
4. Detroit
5. Philadelphia & St. Louis (tie)
Cities Most Likely To Say Caffeine Is Good For You:
1. New York
2. Miami
3. Baltimore
4. Minneapolis/St. Paul
5. Tampa
Cities Most Likely to Say Caffeine is Bad For You:
1. Detroit
2. Phoenix
3. Riverside/San Bernadino
4. St. Louis
5. Houston
Cities Most Addicted To Caffeine:
1. Seattle
2. Philadelphia
3. Phoenix
4. St. Louis
5. Los Angeles & Boston (tie)
Cities Least Addicted to Caffeine:
1. Chicago
2. Tampa
3. San Francisco
4. Houston
5. Riverside/San Bernadino
Consumers tipped their coffee cups on a variety of caffeine-related trends:
— For the second straight year, nearly one-half of all respondents (42 percent) said coffee/specialty drinks would be the hardest to give up.
— Men are much more likely than women (47 percent vs. 39 percent) to say coffee would be the hardest to give up, similar to the first annual survey.
— Nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of all respondents said they are not addicted to caffeine.
— Among age groups, the older the consumer, the more likely they are to say coffee would be the most difficult caffeinated product to give up, a pattern similar to that found last year.
Other key findings of the study:
— Women are more likely than men to say they are addicted to caffeine (29 percent of women vs. 24 percent of men)
— A majority (64 percent) said they consume about the same amount of caffeine as they did a year ago.
— More than one-fourth (28 percent) consume less caffeine now than they did a year ago.
— The younger the age group, the more likely they are to say they consume more caffeine than a year ago.
— Among respondents consuming less caffeine, 53 percent said it is because they are seeking to improve their health; and nearly one-fourth (24 percent) of those consuming less caffeine are doing so because of a change of diet/currently on a diet plan.
— More than one-fourth said they consume more caffeine than a year ago because their everyday routine is more demanding. Another six percent said it was because they have more access to caffeine, and 2 percent said they consume more because of fatigue due to sleep problems.
— Over one-half of respondents said they are way over their ideal weight (12 percent) or over their ideal weight (54 percent). Only four percent said they were under their ideal weight.
Survey Methodology
Prince Market Research, an independent marketing research company, was commissioned to conduct a nationally representative telephone study with consumers in 20 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. to learn more about their use of caffeine in everyday beverages and food. All telephone calls were conducted between July 1 and Aug. 21, 2008, during which period, a total of 2,005 interviews, lasting between of five and seven minutes, were completed. No incentive was offered and the sponsor of the research was not revealed. The margin of error is +/- 2 percent.
Source: HealthSaver
Image: Basic Instructions
LOL. A discount health care chain issues a press release, and everyone laps it up like it’s chiseled in stone from on high.
Wow, yeah, FD–an entertainment website took a press release they thought was entertaining and tried to write an entertaining blog post about it. You sure nailed us on that one. Definitely LOL material. What a scandal. There goes our credibility.