By John Eberle
Energy Drinks: students at CI refer to them as motivators. According to Caitlin K. Kelly and J. Roxanne Prichard of PubMed Central, “Young adults between the ages of 18-34 years are the target demographic for energy drink companies and the largest users.” Through research, it has been discovered that 51% of students on college campuses have used energy drinks at least once throughout the semester.
Energy drinks can have both positive and negative effects on students on campus. Students have said that their use of energy drinks provide a quick boost of energy that helps them pay attention throughout their classes and study sessions.
Take Celsius, for instance, a brand of energy drinks that has grown in popularity recently. The Balanced Nutritionist explains that a can of Celsius contains 200 mg of caffeine. To put it into perspective a cup of coffee contains 95 mg and another brand of energy drink like Red Bull contains 80 mg.
Students with heart conditions should stay away from drinking energy drinks. Look at the Panera Brand incident. A lemonade containing 390 mg of caffeine was the cause of the deaths of Sarah Katz, an Ivy League student that had a heart condition. Panera’s charged lemonade contains more caffeine than a can of an energy drink.
This reliance of the campus community relying too heavily on energy drinks can greatly harm the user’s health in the long run.
Energy drinks while beneficial to students, can do more harm than good in the long run. It is important for students to drink responsibly.
