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Running Head: COLLEGE ENERGY DRINK CONSUMPTION
The Dangers Of Energy Drink Consumption Among College Students
Scott Wilhelm
41567: Consumer Health Decisions
Professor DeAngelo
September 27, 2016
Rowan University
Introduction:
The schedule of a college student is often a grid. Late hours in the library, sleep deprivation, and abnormal eating and sleep schedules are just a few of the aspects of the difficulty and abnormality of a college student’s schedule. Many students, in turn, seek forms of an energy boost for extra motivation and attentiveness. Some of the most prominent of these energy sources are energy drinks. Energy drinks are an easy way for any college student to get a boost in their day in that they are reasonably priced, easily accessible, and can be consumed at all hours of the day in all places around campus. In a nutrition journal written and contributed on by Malinouskas, Aeby, Overton, Carpenter-Abey, and Barber-Heidal (2007), a background statement based on a research study done on college students states the purpose of the study and essentially why people drink energy drinks were based on six situations. These six situations include, “Namely for insufficient sleep, to increase energy (in general), while studying, driving long periods of time, drinking alcohol while partying, and to treat a hangover, and prevalence of adverse side effects and energy drink use dose effects among college energy drink users(Malinouskas et al, 2007).” This easy way of obvious and proven energy jolts from these beverages are very tempting for college students because the effect that these drinks have on the body is so immediate and apparent. Caffeine, which is the most prominent ingredient in energy drinks that gives the body an energized feeling is actually proven to improve cognitive performance and mood in moderate doses, but in excess, caffeine causes chronic headaches, central nervous system, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and renal dysfunction(Malinauskas et al, 2007). In summary, caffeine provides the consumer with many immediate desired affects that may be beneficial to students trying to stay up late doing school related activities, but the underlying harmful effects of these beverages regarding long-term health is enough to call into question if they should be being consumed in very reasonable moderation, or even in general(Malinauskas et al, 2007).
Research Questions:
What are some safe alternatives to students seeking some of the positive effects that energy drinks provide? If students admit to drinking energy drinks, are they actually aware of the harm they can potentially cause to their body? Or do they just not care to make a change?
Significance of the Problem:
This study is being conducted because it is in the best interest of college students to be aware of the health ramifications of energ0y drink consumption. This study is important to research because there is no doubt a few things about energy drinks that are seemingly beneficial to academic success throughout the college population, but seeking alternative ways to get the positive effects of energy drinks without the health ramifications will in turn be a much better way of living in the long term perspective. Quite simply, it is important to answer these questions asked for the safety and security of an enormous amount of students consuming these drinks on a frequent basis. This will help people become healthier and better consumers because the proven ramifications regarding energy drinks will be eliminated and consumers will learn alternative ways to get energy boosts.
Are other factors or substances affecting energy drink consumption?
College students are in a crucial time in their lives where they are so vulnerable to all kinds of temptations that may steer them in the wrong direction. In a peer-reviewed article contributed on by Aria, Caldeira, Kasperski, O’Grady, Vincent, Griffiths, and Wish (2011), a research study was highlighted upon 1,060 undergraduate college students evaluating any correlation drug and alcohol abuse may have on energy drink consumption. What they found was very conclusive of a correlation. The authors state, “Compared to energy drink non-users, energy drink users had heavier alcohol consumption patterns, and were more likely to have used other drugs, both concurrently and in the preceding assessment (Arria, Amelia M., Ph.D., CaldeiraKimberly M., M.S., KasperskiSarah J., M.A., O’GradyKevin E., Ph.D., VincentKathryn B., M.A., GriffithsRoland R., Ph.D.,andWishEric D., Ph.D., 2011).” With energy drinks on the rise all around the country, one can easily conclude from this test that being cautious about drug and alcohol abuse has a beneficial effect, aside from the obvious health ramifications because energy drink consumption is not desired. “Prospectively, energy drink use has a unique relationship with nonmedical use of prescription stimulants and analgesics,” the authors then go on to state in the conclusion section (Aria et al, 2011). The relationship between these substances, especially for college students, makes sense simply because of the way the drugs and alcohol make the body feel, and a boost is just what the energy drink gives. This kind of behavior can also lead to further overall complications if the energy drinks are being consumed with or mixed with alcohol. A survey was done on 465 students on this exact topic, and the data was very decisive. In “Addictive Behaviors” Brache and Stockwell conducted a survey that stated “Students who reported consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks in the past 30days scored higher on the risk taking measure than those who did not. This indicated that there is a significant association between general risk taking tendency and the likelihood of consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks.” This obvious correlation is definitely enough evidence to conclude that these drinks are indeed causing not only the known health risks, but also personality problems as well making students make bad decisions with their lives.
What are the ways to get energy from things other than energy drinks?
Getting back to the basics of nutrition and overall health care is an outstanding place to start when thinking about overall energy. College students have such a rigorous schedule that often times they have a hard time finding balanced meals and sleep schedules. A review of “Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases” Titled “Obesity and metabolic syndrome: Potential benefit from specific nutritional components” written by Abete, Goyenechea, Zulet, and Martinez says, “Dietary calcium appears to play a pivotal role in the regulation of energy metabolism and obesity risk(Abete et al, 2011).” Although the obesity is not the issue in this case, simply consuming daily intakes of calcium can provide a safe energy alternative students can turn to instead of the energy drinks. Another review provides yet another safe alternative in the form of sleep. Faraut, Boudjeltia, Dyzma, Rousseau, David, Stenuit, Franck, Antwerpen, Vanhaeverbeek, and Kerkhofs analyzed “Brain, Behavior, and Immunity” by saying, “Interestingly, several sleep deprivation studies have indicated that one 8-h night of recovery sleep is not sufficient to normalize alertness and performance or cardiovascular risk markers(Faraut, et al, 2011).” College students may try to get away with sleeping long durations for one night and try to last off of it, but the body needs more than one night of substantial sleep according to this review. This is where the energy drinks come into play, when sufficient sleep is not achieved and thus an energy boost is needed or wanted by the student.
Understanding how energy drink companies try to market their product to college students and act like they are good for you
Many energy drink companies have a knack for being advertised and thrown into the media or everyday lives of people, especially in college. Some energy drink companies even give out free samples and things like t-shirts and bags to sway the consumer. With all of that to distract people, there are even grey areas on the labeling and legality of these energy drink companies and what they are putt on the shelves. “Energy Drinks: an emerging public health hazard for youth” by Jennifer Pomeranz, Christina Munsell, and Jennifer Harris comments on this issue. Their comment based on the legal and self-regulatory problems with energy drinks exclaimed, “Recommended government interventions include revised labeling requirements, addressing problematic ingredients, and enacting retail restrictions (Pomeranz, Munsell, Harris, 2013).” These are definitely things to look at and analyze before making an informed decision on what to put into your body. College students may be gullible and get tempted by the free things that they will not look at the many scams these companies are making to lure customers in and get them hooked on their product.
Understanding all of the information as a whole
With all of the information on the health ramifications regarding energy drinks, the safe alternatives and ways to maintain a healthy energy level, and the scams energy drink companies try to fool people with, it must be enough evidence that these drinks are very much something that should not be consumed, especially for the likes of a college student. With the vulnerability the college student is living in, and the easy manipulation of the companies it is easy to get a quick fix when needed, but for the best interest of health, overall wellbeing, and personality, these drinks should be looked down upon and soon be a thing of the past.
Subjects
The subjects for this test will simply be Rowan University Students that live on campus or just off campus, but do not commute. These students will be found around and in the student center on campus to provide the most diverse population of all grades, genders, and majors. People of all demographics are welcome to take the survey on energy drink consumption as long as they meet the two criteria listed above.
Tools
The survey will ask a series of questions to the students asking about the basics of their energy drink consumption, and what their basic knowledge and previous education includes regarding energy drinks. The consideration when selecting the questions on the survey involved the survey being non-biased towards energy drinks. The survey is designed to make the students answer truthfully so that no ulterior motives were considered when answering the questions. The pilot test of the survey will be taken about three weeks prior to finals week for the fall 2016 semester at Rowan. This will give the feedback and pertinent information needed to fix any problems the test may have and execute the finalized version right before finals week.
Survey
Age: ______
Class of: ______
Do you live on or off campus?
Do you consume energy drinks?
About how many energy drinks do you consume on a weekly basis?
Why do you consume energy drinks?
Do you think energy drinks help you in any way?
When and how did you start consuming energy drinks?
Are you aware of any health ramifications associated with energy drink consumption?
Do you consume energy drinks when you are feeling tired or drowsy?
Do you mix alcohol with energy drinks?
If so, how much? How Often?
In one word, describe how you feel after consuming an energy drink.
Results
The people that were interviewed were in the Rowan University student center main pit. This assured for the most diverse population in that people from all grades, genders, and commuters and campus residents could all potentially be there. The overwhelming majority of the test population lived on campus, rounding out nine of the ten people surveyed. Coming in at one person above half of the population, six of the people said that they consume energy drinks. Diving deeper into the details of drink consumption, of the six people that said they consume the drinks, four of them said one per week, one said two per week, and the last participant answered more than 2 per week. The answers for why these people consume the drinks all related to lack of energy during the day, with some saying they even start the day with an energy drink when they do not get enough sleep that night. The participants mostly said that they started consuming the drinks in college, and they all believe that it helps them wake up and be more attentive for classroom and classwork activities. All but one of the participants that said they consume the drinks said that they know the health ramifications of energy drinks and what they can potentially do to their body. Lastly, only one of the people surveyed said that they mix alcohol and energy drinks, and claimed that they only do so occasionally when going out with friends.
Discussion
These results prove that there is indeed a problem to the energy drink dilemma facing college students. In a random sampling of students of all grades and genders, there is clear data showing that energy drinks are indeed being used for means of a source of a boost of energy and motivation. With that being said, interpreting these results includes having to educate people like this on alternative ways of getting energy with the lifestyle of being a college student other than by means of these drinks. Clearly shown above, there are many health ramifications involved with energy drink consumption, and the problem seems to be getting worse and worse as time goes on. Probably the most thought provoking thing about the results gathered here was that the students who consume energy drinks, for the most part, know exactly how badly it effects their bodies, yet they continue the consumption. This may have to do with easy access of the drinks and also how the drinks make them feel after consuming them. One thing that could possibly be improved about this study could be to do multiple studies in different buildings on campus, providing information on which students with particular majors consume energy drinks more, or less, than those of other majors. Overall, this research is concrete data that shows problems within the fabric of college students regarding energy drink consumption and should be acted upon as soon as possible in the best interest of student health.
Works Cited:
Abete, I., Goyenechea, E., Zulet, M. A., & Martinez, J. A. (2011). Obesity and metabolic syndrome: potential benefit from specific nutritional components.Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases,21, B1-B15.
Arria, Amelia M., Ph.D., CaldeiraKimberly M., M.S., KasperskiSarah J., M.A., O’GradyKevin E., Ph.D., VincentKathryn B., M.A., GriffithsRoland R., Ph.D.,andWishEric D., Ph.D. (2011) Title: Increased alcohol consumption, nonmedical prescription drug use, and illicit drug use are associated with energy drink consumption among college students. Retrieved from:
BracheKristina, Stockwell Timothy (2011) Title: Addictive Behaviors: vol 36, issue 12, pgs 1133-1140, Drinking patterns and risk behaviors associated with combined alcohol and energy drink consumption in college drinkers Retrieved From:
Faraut, B., Boudjeltia, K. Z., Dyzma, M., Rousseau, A., David, E., Stenuit, P., ... & Kerkhofs, M. (2011). Benefits of napping and an extended duration of recovery sleep on alertness and immune cells after acute sleep restriction.Brain, behavior, and immunity,25(1), 16-24.
Malinauskas, B. M., Aeby, V. G., Overton, R. F., Carpenter-Aeby, T., &Barber-Heidal, K. (2007). A survey of energy drink consumption patterns among collegestudents. Nutrition journal, 6(1), 1.