| Peer-Reviewed

Use of Energy Drinks Among College Students in Saudi Arabia

Received: 27 March 2016     Accepted: 11 April 2016     Published: 26 April 2016
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Energy drinks are popular among college students in Saudi Arabia (S.A) who consume these drinks for a variety of reasons. For example, college students believe that energy drinks can improve attention and/or reaction times during extended periods of cognitive demand. However, some of the ingredients in energy drinks, particularly sucrose and caffeine, can cause negative health effects such as an increase in heart rate and blood pressure and possible dehydration. In addition, these drinks can interfere with and disrupt normal sleep patterns. The majority of college students in Saudi Arabia are generally unaware of the potential health hazards of energy drinks. Therefore, the objective of this study was to access the usage patterns of energy drinks among college Students in Saudi Arabia. For this study, healthy college student volunteers from three universities in Riyadh, S.A. (King Saud University, Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University and Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University) were recruited. Data were collected via a self-administered, standard pretested questionnaire consisting of 14 questions relating to students’ socio-demographic characteristics, personal habits, total fluid intake, energy drink-related knowledge, and habits. Of the 472 students surveyed, 338 regularly consume energy drinks. The mean age and standard deviation were 20.22 ± 1.71. An exploratory analysis was performed to model significant predictors of energy drink consumption. A backward elimination logistic regression modeling technique was used to reach the most parsimonious yet statistically significant model. Although there was a high prevalence of energy drink usage among students involved in this study, a majority of these students do not have accurate information about the products’ ingredients or potentially detrimental health effects. Our study showed that there is a need for more stringent labeling of energy drinks so that the consumer would know the exact quantity of each ingredient. Future studies are also needed to determine whether formal educational training could impact on understanding as well as intake of energy drinks and harmful side effects of such drinks among college students. Thus, there is an urgent need to provide college students with education and access to unbiased scientific information in order for the students to make informed and healthy choices.

Published in American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 4, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11
Page(s) 49-54
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Energy Drinks, College Student, Intake, Survey

References
[1] Aljaloud S. O. Availability of dietary supplements in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Theories and Applications the International Edition, Alexandria – Egypt, 2014 82(2), 86–100.
[2] Aljaloud, S. O. Effectiveness of an educational program on the cognitive status and habits on the use of dietary supplements facts information to consumers in Saudi Arabia. Journal of theories and applications the International Edition, 2015, 86(3), 2015.
[3] Kim, Y. J., Jeon, E. M., Shim, S. B., and Seo, H. J. Effects of awareness and knowledge of energy drinks on consumption patterns among college students. Korean Journal of Health Promotion, 2015, 15(1), 31–38.
[4] Aljaloud, S. O. Understanding the Behavior and Attitude of Professional Athletes in Saudi Arabia toward Dietary Supplements. Doctoral dissertation, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, 2013.
[5] Aljaloud, S. O., and Ibrahim, S. A. Use of dietary supplements among professional athletes in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2013.
[6] Alford, C., Cox, H., and Wescott, R. The effects of red bull energy drink on human performance and mood. Amino Acids, 2001, 21(2), 139–150.
[7] Gyawali, R., Adkins, A., C. Minor, R., & Ibrahim, S. A. Behavior and changes in cell morphology of Escherichia coli O157: H7 in liquid medium and skim milk in the presence of caffeine. CyTA-Journal of Food, 2014, 12(3), 235-241.
[8] Ibrahim, S. A., Salameh, M. M., Phetsomphou, S., Yang, H., & Seo, C. W. Application of caffeine, 1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthine, to control Escherichia coli O157: H7. Food Chemistry, 2006, 99(4), 645-650.
[9] Magkos, F., and Kavouras, S. A. Caffeine and ephedrine: Physiological, metabolic and performance-enhancing effects. Sports Medicine, 2004, 34(13), 871–889.
[10] Doherty, M., and Smith, P. Effects of caffeine ingestion on rating of perceived exertion during and after exercise: A meta-analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2005, 15(2), 69–78.
[11] Aljaloud, S. O., Ibrahim, S. A., Fraser, A. M., Song, T., and Shahbazi, A. Microbiological quality and safety of dietary supplements sold in Saudi Arabia. Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture, 2013, 25 (8), 593.
[12] Barcelona, E., Capule, A. B., Cruz, J. F., Macam, F., and Robles, R. A survey on the intake of energy drinks among college students and young professionals in metro Manila. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 2014, 2(6).
[13] Lieberman, H., Marriott, B., Judelson, D., Glickman, E., Geiselman, P., Giles, G., and Mahoney, C. Intake of caffeine from all sources including energy drinks and reasons for use in US college students. The FASEB Journal, 2015, 29 (1 Supplement), 392-1.
[14] Trunzo, J. J., Samter, W., Morse, C., McClure, K., Kohn, C., Volkman, J. E., and O’Brien, K. College students’ use of energy drinks, social problem-solving, and academic performance. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2014, 46(5), 396–401.
[15] Larson, N., Laska, M. N., Story, M., and Neumark-Sztainer, D. Sports and energy drink consumption are linked to health-risk behaviours among young adults. Public Health Nutrition, 2015, 1–10.
[16] Kim, I. K., and Kim, K. M. Energy drink consumption patterns and associated factors among nursing students: A descriptive survey study. Journal of Addictions Nursing, 2015, 26(1), 24–31.
[17] Reid, S. D., Ramsarran, J., Brathwaite, R., Lyman, S., Baker, A., D’Andra, C. C., Thapelo, C. K. Energy drink usage among university students in a Caribbean country: Patterns of use and adverse effects. Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health, 2015, 5(2), 103–116.
[18] Bawazeer, N. A., and AlSobahi, N. A. Prevalence and side effects of energy drink consumption among medical students at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Medical Students, 2013, 1(3), 104–108.
[19] Dillon, P., Svikis, D., Pomm, D., Thacker, L., Kendler, K., and Dick, D. Understanding the buzz about energy drink use in college students. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 2015, 146, e267.
[20] Emond, J. A., Sargent, J. D., and Gilbert-Diamond, D. Patterns of energy drink advertising over US television networks. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2015, 47(2), 120–126.
[21] Aljaloud, S. O. Dietary Supplements for Professional Athletes: A great potential for Saudi Arabia. Journal of Nutritional Health & Food Engineering. Journal of Nutrition Health and Food Engineering, 2015, 3(1): 00097.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Sulaiman O. Aljaloud. (2016). Use of Energy Drinks Among College Students in Saudi Arabia. American Journal of Sports Science, 4(3), 49-54. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Sulaiman O. Aljaloud. Use of Energy Drinks Among College Students in Saudi Arabia. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2016, 4(3), 49-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Sulaiman O. Aljaloud. Use of Energy Drinks Among College Students in Saudi Arabia. Am J Sports Sci. 2016;4(3):49-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11,
      author = {Sulaiman O. Aljaloud},
      title = {Use of Energy Drinks Among College Students in Saudi Arabia},
      journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
      volume = {4},
      number = {3},
      pages = {49-54},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20160403.11},
      abstract = {Energy drinks are popular among college students in Saudi Arabia (S.A) who consume these drinks for a variety of reasons. For example, college students believe that energy drinks can improve attention and/or reaction times during extended periods of cognitive demand. However, some of the ingredients in energy drinks, particularly sucrose and caffeine, can cause negative health effects such as an increase in heart rate and blood pressure and possible dehydration. In addition, these drinks can interfere with and disrupt normal sleep patterns. The majority of college students in Saudi Arabia are generally unaware of the potential health hazards of energy drinks. Therefore, the objective of this study was to access the usage patterns of energy drinks among college Students in Saudi Arabia. For this study, healthy college student volunteers from three universities in Riyadh, S.A. (King Saud University, Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University and Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University) were recruited. Data were collected via a self-administered, standard pretested questionnaire consisting of 14 questions relating to students’ socio-demographic characteristics, personal habits, total fluid intake, energy drink-related knowledge, and habits. Of the 472 students surveyed, 338 regularly consume energy drinks. The mean age and standard deviation were 20.22 ± 1.71. An exploratory analysis was performed to model significant predictors of energy drink consumption. A backward elimination logistic regression modeling technique was used to reach the most parsimonious yet statistically significant model. Although there was a high prevalence of energy drink usage among students involved in this study, a majority of these students do not have accurate information about the products’ ingredients or potentially detrimental health effects. Our study showed that there is a need for more stringent labeling of energy drinks so that the consumer would know the exact quantity of each ingredient. Future studies are also needed to determine whether formal educational training could impact on understanding as well as intake of energy drinks and harmful side effects of such drinks among college students. Thus, there is an urgent need to provide college students with education and access to unbiased scientific information in order for the students to make informed and healthy choices.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Use of Energy Drinks Among College Students in Saudi Arabia
    AU  - Sulaiman O. Aljaloud
    Y1  - 2016/04/26
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11
    T2  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JF  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JO  - American Journal of Sports Science
    SP  - 49
    EP  - 54
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8540
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20160403.11
    AB  - Energy drinks are popular among college students in Saudi Arabia (S.A) who consume these drinks for a variety of reasons. For example, college students believe that energy drinks can improve attention and/or reaction times during extended periods of cognitive demand. However, some of the ingredients in energy drinks, particularly sucrose and caffeine, can cause negative health effects such as an increase in heart rate and blood pressure and possible dehydration. In addition, these drinks can interfere with and disrupt normal sleep patterns. The majority of college students in Saudi Arabia are generally unaware of the potential health hazards of energy drinks. Therefore, the objective of this study was to access the usage patterns of energy drinks among college Students in Saudi Arabia. For this study, healthy college student volunteers from three universities in Riyadh, S.A. (King Saud University, Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University and Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University) were recruited. Data were collected via a self-administered, standard pretested questionnaire consisting of 14 questions relating to students’ socio-demographic characteristics, personal habits, total fluid intake, energy drink-related knowledge, and habits. Of the 472 students surveyed, 338 regularly consume energy drinks. The mean age and standard deviation were 20.22 ± 1.71. An exploratory analysis was performed to model significant predictors of energy drink consumption. A backward elimination logistic regression modeling technique was used to reach the most parsimonious yet statistically significant model. Although there was a high prevalence of energy drink usage among students involved in this study, a majority of these students do not have accurate information about the products’ ingredients or potentially detrimental health effects. Our study showed that there is a need for more stringent labeling of energy drinks so that the consumer would know the exact quantity of each ingredient. Future studies are also needed to determine whether formal educational training could impact on understanding as well as intake of energy drinks and harmful side effects of such drinks among college students. Thus, there is an urgent need to provide college students with education and access to unbiased scientific information in order for the students to make informed and healthy choices.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Exercise Physiology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

  • Sections