Energy drink consumption is associated with unhealthy dietary behaviours among college youth

While energy drinks have been related to a number of health risks, Poulos & Pasch (2015) decided to study their impact on dietary behaviors by examining 585 college freshmen (average age = 18.7 years, 47% non-Hispanic White, 56% female) at a southwest university. The first-year students self-reported their consumption of energy drinks, soda, diet soda, pre-packaged salty snacks, pre-packaged sweet snacks, fast food, restaurant food, frozen food, fruits, vegetables, milk and breakfast, all in the past week. The figures demonstrated 17.5% of the respondents had consumed energy drinks in the past 7 days, while there was a low intake of fruits, vegetables, milk and breakfast reported by the students. Energy drink users were more likely to be male, White, have a larger BMI, eat more frozen meals and drink more soda. These findings suggest that future dietary interventions among young college academics should consider the impact of energy drinks on dietary behaviors. [NPID: screen time, eating behaviors, social media, energy drinks, college, university, students, soda, diet soda, salty snacks, snacks, fast food, restaurant food, frozen food, fruits, vegetables, milk, breakfast, male, gender differences]

Year: 2015

Reference: Poulos, N. S., & Pasch, K. E. (2015). Energy drink consumption is associated with unhealthy dietary behaviours among college youth. Perspectives in public health, 135(6), 316–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913914565388