Young people consulted by The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers have suggested a range of anti-smoking style interventions to reduce the consumption of energy drinks by children and adolescents – including plain packaging and age restrictions on sales.
In research published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, The Kids researchers conducted a series of group interviews with young people aged 12-25 to find out how much they knew about energy drinks and the consequences of drinking them.
Lead author Dr Jacinta Francis said the participants were also quizzed about factors influencing their consumption or non-consumption, and what intervention strategies they would suggest to reduce consumption by young people.
“This study gave us the unique opportunity to hear what young people themselves think should be done to protect younger people from the potential health impacts of energy drinks,” Dr Francis said.
“Interestingly, many of our participants felt there should be restrictions on the sale of these products to young people and that other strategies successfully used to reduce smoking rates, such as plain packaging, higher prices and reduced visibility in stores, should be applied to energy drinks.”
The study revealed that even though almost three quarters of the participants had tried energy drinks, most were confused about what was in the products. They were also either unaware of, or had trouble interpreting, serving sizes and advisory labels.
Those who had consumed energy drinks said they did so for the perceived energy boost or because they believed it would help them concentrate or stay awake for activities including exams, sport, driving, or playing video games for extended periods.
“Other factors influencing consumption by many of our participants included the low cost, pleasant taste, ready availability, and active promotion of energy drinks,” Dr Francis said.
One participant said an energy drink company often sent promotional staff to hand out free energy drinks at all-night Local Area Connection (LAN) gaming parties. Others noted that on-line and televised energy drink advertisements, which generally targeted males, were often funny and entertaining and created a sense that it was cool to drink energy drinks.
Dr Francis said those who had avoided or given up energy drinks cited negative health effects, unpleasant taste, high cost, and parental disapproval.
While some participants said they had been unaffected by energy drinks, many reported negative health effects or knew others who had experienced negative effects after drinking anything from one 250ml can to multiple cans over the course of a day or night.
“These negative effects included decreased energy, poor concentration and fidgeting, sleeplessness, stress, fainting, nausea, shaking, increased heart rate, hallucinations and addiction,” Dr Francis said.
One participant, a 15-year-old girl, described an occasion when she had consumed too many energy drinks and had started hearing things. Another, a 23-year-old woman, recalled drinking five cans of energy drink a day while trying to cram for exams.
“I just felt like I was buzzing, like my skin was tingling,” she told researchers. “I couldn’t concentrate.”
Dr Francis said the results suggested there was a need for educational campaigns to increase young people’s knowledge around energy drinks and to promote alternative ways to improve energy levels, such as good nutrition, physical activity and adequate sleep.
Fellow The Kids researcher and co-author Dr Gina Trapp said the findings underscored the need for more research around energy drinks and young people.
“So far most research into the use and impacts of energy drinks has focused on adults, yet much of the marketing appeals to young people – particularly young males,” Dr Trapp said.
“These group interviews show that young people are consuming and feeling the effects of energy drinks. Our ongoing research – including a comprehensive survey of at least 4000 WA high school students – will delve further into how young people interact with energy drinks, the potential health impacts, and the feasibility of a range of intervention strategies.”
The study, Informing Intervention Strategies to Reduce Energy Drink Consumption in Young People: Findings From Qualitative Research can be found here.