Risks of High-Caffeine Energy Drinks
Usage Linked to a Wide Range of Physical Symptoms, Risky Behaviors
Nov 9, 2008
About a third of American 12-to 24-year-olds report that they regularly consume so-called "energy" drinks. While teens and young adults like the energy boost they get from the caffeine in the drinks, researchers have linked regular consumption with significant health and behavioral risks.
As Much Caffeine as Two Whole Six-Packs of Regular Cola
A single can of some brands of high-caffeine drinks can contain enough caffeine to cause symptoms of caffeine intoxication, such as insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, upset stomach, tremors, rapid heartbeat, or uncontrollable physical agitation, according to a report by researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the September, 2008 issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
The energy drinks tested by the researchers contained anywhere between 79 milligrams (mg) and 500 mg of caffeine, compared to 80-150 mg in a typical six-ounce cup of coffee and less than 71 mg in a 12-ounce cola. One can of Red Bull has twice the caffeine of a can of Coke or Pepsi. A 20-ounce Fixx brand energy drink contains 500 mg of caffeine, significantly more than the 300 mg that can cause temporary caffeine intoxication.
Energy Drink Usage Linked to High-Risk Behavior
A study of 795 undergraduates by scientist Kathleen E. Miller at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions found that students who consumed energy drinks six or more days a month were much more likely to engage in a wide variety of risky behaviors than people who didn’t use energy drinks. White energy drinkers were about three times more likely to smoke cigarettes or abuse prescription drugs. Both whites and non-whites were more likely to have been involved in a serious fight in the year before the survey.
Other risky behaviors linked to energy drink consumption include using marijuana, drinking alcohol to excess, taking part in unsafe sex, not using a seat belt, participating in extreme sports and doing dangerous things on a dare.
Caffeine and Alcohol: a Potentially Deadly Combination
College students who mix alcohol with energy drinks put themselves at much higher risk of getting injured, needing medical attention, or riding with a drunk driver, according to research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Students who drank alcohol mixed with energy drinks were more than twice as likely to take advantage of someone else sexually, and almost twice as likely to be taken advantage of sexually themselves.
Researchers found that the combination of alcohol and caffeine made users less aware of just how impaired their judgment and reaction times actually were.
How Caffeine Affects the Human Body
Caffeine is a mild stimulant that speeds up the heart rate, blood flow, breathing, and metabolism for several hours. Taken in moderate doses, it can make the person who uses it temporarily feel better, think more clearly and work harder. But caffeine can also produce unpleasant symptoms at doses of 300 mg or more. In addition to the symptoms listed above, it can interfere with clear thinking and increase the side effects of certain medications.
Caffeine is a drug to use with caution, especially at the high doses involved in many energy drinks.
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