Energy Drink Consumption in College Students and Problem Behaviors
November 11, 2008
Energy Drink Consumption in College Students and Problem Behaviors

Researchers have begun to examine links between energy drink consumption and health-compromising behaviors. Results of a recent study conducted at a single college campus found a positive association between high frequency energy drink consumers and 9 problem behavior outcomes for white students but not for black students (other races and foreign students’ use patterns were not examined). Frequent energy drink consumers, those who had at least one energy drink 6 days in a month, were twice as likely as less frequent and non-consumers to have alcohol-related problems. They were also three times as likely to have abused prescription drugs, been in a serious physical fight, or smoked cigarettes. The researchers suggest that energy drink consumption may serve as a useful screening tool to identify students at risk for exhibiting health-compromising behavior.

The full article is available from the Journal of Adolescent Health at
http://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(08)00165-1/fulltext
Login Required.