Chicago most caffeinated U.S. city: survey

By Kristina Cooke

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The windy city is also the most wired, according to a survey that showed people in Chicago are the most caffeinated in the United States.

Chicagoans eat more chocolate and drink more cola than other U.S. urbanites, and are among the top consumers of energy drinks and coffee.

They are also likely to say caffeine is good for you, according to the poll conducted by Prince Market Research.

Tampa, Miami, Phoenix and Atlanta rounded out the top five most caffeinated cities, while residents of San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York, Detroit and Baltimore consumed the least caffeine.

"It's surprising perhaps that some places you may think have a lot of hustle and bustle like San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York, were the least caffeinated cities," said Todd Smith, a spokesman for HealthSaver, a healthcare discount service that commissioned the poll.

The survey looked at consumption of coffee, tea, chocolate, sodas, energy drinks and caffeine pills in 20 major cities in the United States by interviewing 2,000 people.

Seattle took the top spot in just caffeinated coffee consumption. Nearly 60 percent of residents in the city said coffee would be the most difficult caffeine product to give up.

The growing popularity of "high-end" coffees, energy drinks and green tea has added to more caffeine consumption around the world, according to HealthSaver.