Three billion dollars are spent every year on “energy drinks,” usually fruit-flavored beverages heavily laced with caffeine and a wide assortment of added nutritional supplements. In spite of the widespread popularity of the beverages, there has been little scientific study of the effects of consuming these energy-boosting beverages on a regular basis.

The potential ill-effects of some of the most popular energy drinks were, however, the subject of a recent study undertaken by researchers at the Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), a part of the University of Buffalo (New York) system. Of particular interest was any link to behavioral changes associated with the beverages.

Almost 800 male and female college students, 18 to 25 years old, from western New York were recruited for the RIA study. White students accounted for 87% of the students in the study, and 52% of the study participants were male.

All study participants claimed to have consumed one or more energy drinks in the month before the study began. Higher consumption was reported in male students (46% versus 31% of the girls) and white students (40% versus 25% of the black students). For the sake of the study, frequent consumption was defined as drinking energy drinks six or more days each month, or less than two servings each week.

Frequent consumption was found to be associated with aggressive behavioral issues called “toxic jock identity,” characterized by aggressive and risky actions. Study participants who were frequent consumers were three times more likely than those who drank fewer energy beverages or abstained from them altogether to engage in behaviors considered risky to the individual or others: smoking, the illegal use of prescription drugs, and serious physical altercations in the previous year.

Two out of three students reported mixing alcoholic beverages with energy drinks. These beverages can contain anywhere from 3% to 10% more caffeine than the typical soft drink, making them attractive mixers for people who think the caffeine will keep them alert and energized enough to enjoy an alcohol buzz all night long. One risk of this misconception is that the alcohol’s detrimental effects - impaired judgment and slowed reaction time - remain in effect, even if the party goer is wired on caffeine.

Only the white male students identified in the study as frequent consumers reported smoking, illicit use of prescription medications, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems. Black male students who were frequent consumers did not report any of these behaviors.

Frequent consumers of energy drinks were twice as likely to drink alcohol, experience problems related to alcohol consumption, and to smoke marijuana than students who didn’t drink energy drinks. Other behaviors seen more often in frequent drinkers of these energy beverages include having unsafe sex, avoiding seatbelt use, participation in extreme sports, and accepting dangerous dares.

Kathleen E. Miller, PhD, the lead researcher in the RIA study, says a young man’s consumption of energy drinks may be considered indicative of the “problem behavior syndrome,” even serving as a red flag for young people at risk of engaging in unsafe activities. Miller, a sociologist, is an adjunct research assistant professor of the University of Buffalo’s Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences. The National Institute on Drug Abuse funded her study, the full details of which are available in the Journal of Adolescent Health’s June edition online.

Miller says the problematic behaviors now associated with frequent consumption of energy drinks may be the most exaggerated in young male athletes, where their athletic prowess is a large part of their self-identity. The energy drinks may be potent enough to push them into hyper-masculinity behaviors, risky choices that emphasize their physical strength and daring bravado. The jock identity can become dangerous, or toxic, when it escalates to encompass problem drinking, unsafe sexual behaviors, violence in relationships, academic and legal misconduct, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

The high caffeine and taurine contents of some energy drinks have gotten them banned from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Turkey, and Uruguay. In Sweden, energy drinks are sold only in pharmacies, where they are classified as medicinal products. Canada banned energy drinks until 2004, when it lifted the ban as long as warning labels mention adverse health effects that might affect pregnant women and children, as well as the general dangers of heavy consumption and mixing with alcohol.

There are no government-sanctioned regulations on energy drinks sold in the United states at this time.

Source: University at Buffalo