Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Oct;72 Suppl 1(0 1):87-97.
doi: 10.1111/nure.12129.

Evidence and knowledge gaps for the association between energy drink use and high-risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults

Amelia M Arria  1 , Brittany A Bugbee, Kimberly M Caldeira, Kathryn B Vincent
Affiliations
Review

Evidence and knowledge gaps for the association between energy drink use and high-risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults

Amelia M Arria et al. Nutr Rev. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Sales of energy drinks have increased rapidly since their introduction to the marketplace in the 1990s. Despite the health concerns raised about these beverages, which are often highly caffeinated, surprisingly little data are available to estimate the prevalence of their use. This review presents the results of secondary data analyses of a nationally representative data set of schoolchildren in the United States and reviews the available research on the association between energy drink use and risk-taking behaviors. Approximately one-third of the students surveyed were recent users of energy drinks, with substantial variation by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Among the health and safety concerns related to energy drinks and their consumption is the possible potentiation of risk-taking behaviors. The review of available research reveals that, although there does appear to be a strong and consistent positive association between the use of energy drinks and risk-taking behavior, all but one of the available studies used cross-sectional designs, thereby limiting the ability to make inferences about the temporal nature of the association. Thus, more research is needed to understand the nature of this association and how energy drinks, particularly those containing caffeine, might impact adolescent health and safety, especially given the high prevalence of their use among youth.

Keywords: adolescents; caffeine; energy drinks; energy shots; risk-taking behavior.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors have no relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1a Prevalence of recent CCED use, by gender, race/ethnicity, and grade. Figure 1b Prevalence of recent energy shot use, by gender, race/ethnicity, and grade.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 1a Prevalence of recent CCED use, by gender, race/ethnicity, and grade. Figure 1b Prevalence of recent energy shot use, by gender, race/ethnicity, and grade.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of recent use of CCEDs and/or shots, by grade and year.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. McCusker RR, Goldberger BA, Cone EJ. Caffeine content of energy drinks, carbonated sodas, and other beverages. J Anal Toxicol. 2006;30(2):112–114. - PubMed
    1. Heckman MA, Sherry K, Gonzalez de Mejia E. Energy drinks: An assessment of their market size, consumer demographics, ingredient profile, functionality, and regulations in the United States. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf. 2010;9(3):303–317. - PubMed
    1. Clauson KA, Shields KM, McQueen CE, Persad N. Safety issues associated with commercially available energy drinks. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2008;48(3):e55–e63. - PubMed
    1. Smit HJ, Cotton JR, Hughes SC, Rogers PJ. Mood and cognitive performance effects of “energy” drink constituents: Caffeine, glucose and carbonation. Nutr Neurosci. 2004;7(3):127–139. - PubMed
    1. Malinauskas BM, Aeby VG, Overton RF, Carpenter-Aeby T, Barber-Heidal K. A survey of energy drink consumption patterns among college students. Nutr J. 2007;6(1):35–41. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types