Research Paper

 

Think Before You Drink

 

The energy drink market has grown rapidly over the past decade. Hundreds of different brands are now available in stores. They range in size, flavor, and amount of caffeine they contain. You can take a shot or go for the “Big Rig” (24oz). These drinks are primarily marketed towards young people. Research suggest that about one-third of teens and young adults regularly consume energy drinks (Tanner). The amount of caffeine added to energy drinks are not regulated by the FDA as they are in other beverages. Therefore, manufactures of these drinks are not required to put warning labels on their product or even put the correct amount of caffeine content on the labels. Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive substance among people of all age groups. This is most likely due to the fact it is legal, easy to obtain, and socially acceptable to consume. It is classified as a stimulant drug, and is typically used to arouse the central nervous system for cognitive or physical endeavors.

Always being on the go is a product of the fast pace society we live in. With our busy schedules, we seldom have time to finish all of the things that need to get done. This is often the case for many students. For the majority of students, the school day begins early in the morning, followed by sports, jobs, or maybe even both. The day usually ends with piles of homework, studying, and projects to be completed for the next day. So what do student turn to when the fatigue kicks in? They turn to that ever so popular energy drink. Energy drinks may be tempting when we are running low on energy and need that quick pick me up, but they are not the solution. Students should avoid energy drinks because of the heart related complications linked to them, the excessive amount of sugar they contain, and their ability to become addictive.

Energy drinks may increase your energy level but they also have been reported to increase heart rate and blood pressure. In one study, healthy individuals consumed two cans of energy drinks daily. On the first day their heart rate increased by 8% and on day seven their heart rate increased by 11% (Higgins, Tuttle, and Higgins). Having a faster than normal heart rate is known as tachycardia. When the heart beats too rapidly, it pumps less efficiently and results in reduced blood flow to the rest of the body. This can led to serious health problems including stroke and cardiac arrest. In the same study, the blood pressure of the individuals who drank the energy drinks increased by 8% on day one and 10% on day seven (Higgins, Tuttle, and Higgins). Blood pressure is determined by the flow of blood into the arteries. While an increased heart rate usually dilates the blood vessels in the body to allow for the greater amount of blood being pumped through them, caffeine actually narrows the blood vesicles. With the increased heart rate that is causing the heart to pump more blood and the blood vesicles that are constricted by the caffeine, it is creating a greater resistance of blood flow into the arteries. All of this adds up to elevated blood pressure, which is well known for its increased risks of heart disease and stroke. This can become a serious problem or even life threatening, especially for people with underlying heart conditions.

Emergency rooms have seen an increase in the amount of heart related complications linked to the consumption of energy drinks. According to the New York Times, “[the] number of annual hospital visits involving energy drinks doubled from 2007 to 2011. In 2011, there were 20,783 reported emergency room visits in which an energy drink was cited as the primary cause of or a contributing factor to a health problem, compared with 10,068 in 2007” (Meier). The problems ranged from anxiety, and headaches, to irregular heartbeats and heart attacks. Along with hospital visits, there have been numerous documented cases of death associated with the consumption of energy drinks. One of the cases involved a healthy eighteen year-old male that died playing basketball after drinking two cans of Red Bull (Higgins, Tuttle, and Higgins). These numbers are alarming and completely preventable. Dr. Macie Schneider, an adolescent medicine specialist and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Nutrition committee, states “These drinks have no benefit, no place in the diet of kids” (Tanner).

            One of the ingredients used to create that sudden burst of energy is sugar and usually a lot of it. According to the American Heart Association, “Sugar-sweetened beverages are the primary source of added sugars in Americans’ diets” (Johnson et al. 1012). In fact an energy drink can contain more than half of the daily recommended intake of sugar. The sugar content in energy drinks can range from 21g to 34g per eight ounces. Individuals who drink two or three energy drinks could be consuming 4 to 6 times the recommended daily value of sugar (Sifferlin). Every 4 grams are equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar. You do the math; I’ll give you a hint it equals a lot of spoonfuls. All of this added sugar offers little to no nutritional value to one’s diet and can lead to health concerns. Obesity is a critical health problem associated with a high sugar diet. Obesity is becoming an epidemic in the United States. Yes, sugar can create a lot of energy, but the problem is that most people do not use that energy, so it gets stored as fat. According to a report by joint experts from the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization, the high and increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks by children is a serious concern. It has been estimated that each additional can of sugar-sweetened drink that they consume everyday increases their risk of becoming obese by 60% (66). These organizations also state that one of the ways to prevent obesity is to “restrict the intake of sugar-sweetened drinks” (68).

 So while the excessive sugar content in energy drinks may be causing people to struggle to get their pants buttoned, it also comes with a more serious concern, diabetes. Diabetes has long been linked to being overweight, but new studies are suggesting that sugar can also be a factor. Diabetes is a problem within your body that causes blood glucose (sugar) levels to rise higher than normal. Diabetes was previously a disease of the middle-aged and elderly. According to the report by experts from the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization, “diabetes has recently escalated in all age groups and is now being identified in younger and younger age groups, including adolescents and children”(72). Diabetes can increase one’s risk for many serious health problems. Some complication include blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and stroke. While an energy drink may produce a temporary spike in energy, no amount of energy can justify the sugar they contain and the long-term effects associated with high sugar consumption.

While it is true that energy drinks have a large amount of sugar in them, they also contain many important nutrients including niacin, folic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C, and a variety of B vitamins. All of these vitamins are essential and play different roles to keep our bodies healthy.  Studies even suggest that vitamin B can help prevent heart disease and cancer. However, scientific studies have shown no additional benefit to consuming these added nutrients in the form of an energy drink. In fact, the amount of nutrients contained in these drinks are not enough to have a meaningful effect on an individual’s body (Sifferlin). These nutrients that are essential for one’s health can be easily attained in a balance diet without the need to get them from an energy drink.

             People can become addicted to almost anything, and energy drinks are no exception. It does not come as any surprise that the main ingredient in an energy drink is caffeine. One of the difficulties with caffeine is that most people do not think of it as a drug in the same way that they think of nicotine or alcohol. The DSM-IV-TR defines a substance dependency as the ability to build up tolerance, inability to quit, withdrawal, using more than intended and use despite harm (Reissig, Strain, and Griffiths 2). Based on this definition, caffeine is considered an addictive substance. Most individuals who consume caffeine on a regular basis would probably fall into this criteria for having a substance dependency. Even as the concerns over the safety of energy drinks continue to grow, individuals still continue to drink them. In fact, energy drinks are the fastest growing beverage in the United States. In 2009 sales were expected to top $9 billion dollars (Tanner). One would think with the increasing risks associated with these drinks that the numbers would be going in the opposite direction. This brings us back to one of the criteria for having a substance dependency, which is the use of the substance despite harm.

            Addiction is not only a strong need to regularly have something that is potentially harmful, but it also comes with physiological symptoms of withdrawal. The caffeine that “gets us going” has the same effect that other drugs have. That is, when taken away it will create withdrawal symptoms. Caffeine withdrawal is recognized as an official diagnosis by International Classification of Disease. The symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include headache, tiredness/fatigue, decreased cognitive performance, depression, irritability, nausea/vomiting, and muscle ache/stiffness. These symptoms can potentially interfere with an individual’s everyday life, either by being physically ill or not being able to perform at peak levels. When the fatigue starts setting in or a headache begins to rear its ugly head, the easiest way to prevent these symptoms is to reach for another caffeinated beverage. The reason for this is to avoid experiencing the withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting it. Therefore, people may continue to consume these drinks despite wanting to quit. 

            If caffeine is so bad, why are coffee, tea, and soda not being singled out? These drinks all have caffeine in them too. It has to do with how much caffeine is packed into these energy drinks. The caffeine content in these drinks can vary widely amongst energy drinks, anywhere between 50 to 505 mg per can or bottle. That is equivalent to fourteen cans of soda. The FDA limits the maximum amount of caffeine content of cola-type soft drinks to 0.02% caffeine, or 71mg per 12 fluid ounces (Reissig, Strain, and Griffiths 2). However, since energy drinks are classified as a dietary supplement by the FDA there is no regulated amount of caffeine these drinks are allowed to contain. The article “Caffeinated Energy Drinks- A Growing Problem” points out, that it is a striking inconsistency that in the U.S. an over the counter stimulated medication containing 100mg of caffeine per tablet must include a list of warnings and directions, whereas a 500mg energy drink can be marketed with no such warnings (Reissig, Strain and Griffiths 3). The absence of regulatory oversight has resulted in aggressive marketing of energy drinks, allowing them to increase the amount of caffeine they pump into their drinks.

It may be tempting to grab an energy drink for a quick pick me up when you are running low on energy, but this is not the answer. Energy drinks may achieve their goal of providing that quick burst of energy, but at what cost to one’s health?  As the amount of energy drinks being consumed grows, so does the health risks associated with drinking them. The large amounts of caffeine manufactures are packing into an energy drink has been linked to heart related complications. Along with the large amount of caffeine these drinks contain, is the excessive amount of sugar, which can increase the chances of gaining weight and possibility developing diabetes in an individual.  If those problems weren’t bad enough, there is the added fact that one could become addicted to the large amounts of caffeine in these drinks. Students need to avoid energy drinks because of all of the dangers and side effects associated with them.

Greater awareness needs to be raised on the health concerns and the negative side effects of energy drinks. The lack of regulation by the FDA is making these drinks increasingly more dangerous by allowing manufactures to include an enormous amount of caffeine. These risks far outweigh any amount of energy boost that these drinks can provide. There is no evidence that these drinks can provide anything beneficial to an individual; therefore, children should not be allowed to consume them. A parent would not allow their child to eat spoonful after spoonful of sugar or let them drink fourteen cans of soda in one sitting, so why are we allowing them to purchase these energy drinks that are essentially allowing them to do the same thing. An age requirement has been establish in order to purchase tobacco and alcohol products because of the dangers associated with them; energy drinks should follow suit. Children need to be educated on the dangers of these drinks and that there are ways to increase energy safety without depending on an energy drinks to do it for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Higgins, John P., Troy D. Tuttle, and Christopher L. Higgins. "Energy Drinks: Content and Safety." Mayo Clinic Proceedings 85.11: 1033-41. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Johnson, Rachel K., et al. "Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association." Circulation 120 (2009): 1010-20. Ahajournals.org. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.

Meier, Barry. "More Emergency Visits Linked to Energy Drinks." The New York Times 11 Jan. 2013: n. pag. Nytimes.com. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Reissig, Chad J., Eric C. Strain, and Roland R. Griffiths. "Caffeinated Energy Drinks- A Growing Problem." Science Direct 99.1-3 (2009): 1-10. ScienceDirect. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. "What's in Your Energy Drink." Time 6 Feb. 2013: n. pag. Time.com. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.

Tanner, Lindsey. "Energy Drinks can be Dangerous for Teens, Reports Says." Nbcnews. N.p., 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

World Health Organization, and Food and Agriculture Organization, comps. Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. N.p.: n.p., 2003. Print. WHO Technical Report 916.