At the store, shoppers often see “added sugars” listed on ingredient labels of packaged foods. According to research from the University of North Carolina’s Global Food Research Program, 60% of the products found in American grocery stores contain added sugars. Consuming high amounts of added sugar has been linked to health problems such as obesity and heart disease.
One sugary product that continues to grow in popularity is energy drinks. Although energy drinks were originally marketed toward adults, the demographic has eventually shifted towards the general public, including teenagers.
Companies market their products with bright colors, catchy slogans, and sponsorship with influencers and athletes to appeal to the younger generations.
Some examples of these companies include Red Bull. With entertaining commercials and a catchy slogan of “Red Bull gives you wings,” many teens might be enticed to buy the drink. Once they buy the drink, they’ll be hooked on the flavors.
Senior Teanna Martens said that she loves Red Bull because of the flavors like watermelon.
Students have been attracted to caffeinated drinks for a variety of reasons including of academic stress or athletic activities. Even the health care company Prism Medical described energy drinks as a “ubiquitous part of modern life.”
For some teenagers, energy drinks have become part of a daily routine. Energy drinks are primarily marketed for their caffeine content, but many also include added sugars that provide a quick energy boost that leads to energy crashes a period of time after consumption.
Red Bull is one of the energy drinks with a higher sugar content. According to Vidrate, a 16 fluid ounce can of Red Bull contains 51 grams of sugar, which is on the high side.
However, the same article says that the drink with the most sugar is Rockstar Punched Energy with 83.5 grams of sugar per 500 milliliters. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 50 grams is typically the daily limit in a normal 2,000-calories diet for an adult.
So if people are consuming more than one energy drink, they could be consuming excess sugar and added sugar.
Even though Martens said she loved Red Bull, she also acknowledged that people think they’re getting a bigger energy boost than they’re actually getting when it comes to energy drinks.
“People just have the sense that [energy drinks] are gonna actually help them and that they’re actually gaining energy, but in reality they’re really not,” Martens said. “They’re just enjoying the dopamine kick.”
Sugar can trigger the release of dopamine, which is a chemical linked to pleasure and reward. This “dopamine kick” is related to the sugar crashes that come with the consumption of most caffeinated and sugary drinks.
In addition to a high sugar content, energy drinks also contain a lot of caffeine. According to an article from Harvard Health, Consumer Reports tested 27 different energy drinks for their caffeine content. Their results found that the caffeine content in the drinks ranged from six to 242 milligrams. High amounts of caffeine can temporarily increase alertness, but fatigue may follow after its effects wear off. It is recommended that people consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine each day.
Sophomore Yaslin Lopez said she drinks energy drinks for the caffeine but is trying to cut back on them.
“I recently have been drinking a lot of Red Bulls,” Lopez said. “I’m trying to cut back because I don’t want to get addicted just like other people. I really like sweet things, so I end up eating and drinking a lot of sugar.”
However, Lopez also expressed health concerns for kids she sees consuming a large amount of sugar and caffeine.
Energy boosts like this are what make the drinks so appealing to teens and especially high school athletes. The quick surge of energy can make the teens feel like they have motivation, even if it drops hours later.
The sugar and caffeine found within the drinks can cause addictive qualities in people. Some researchers have even explored whether sugar can trigger addictive-like behaviors in people. According to an article from the National Library of Medicine, an experiment was conducted on rats that tested if the animals began to crave sugar after a month-long intermittent-feeding schedule.
The rats were observed to have behavioral problems that were similar to those of drug addiction in humans. They were seen to start consuming the sugar in large amounts, craving the sugar, and started experiencing withdrawals, such as anxiety, when left without the sweet substance. This phenomenon is also observed in humans with sugar.
The sugar addiction and need for caffeine have aided in the rise of sugary drinks, which has also increased the popularity of energy drinks.
Lopez said that the craving for sugar and energy drinks comes from the sense of gaining a boost of motivation, especially among teens.
“I think people crave sugar because it gives them a sense of energy and motivation to do stuff and get work done,” Lopez said. “It’s mostly the teenagers. They’re just buying them more often, and people are craving them more.”
