Advantages and Health Risks Associated with Energy Drinks - Essay Example

Advantages And Health Risks Associated With Energy Drinks Essay Plan/Outline Introduction General Statement: The consumption and sale of energy drinks have increased at a profound rate and may be hurting the society in a negative manner. Definitions: Energy drink is a term used to refer to those drinks that comprises of several ingredients that are essentially needed in order to increase the energy of the consumer. Thesis Statement: Energy drinks have more negative effects to offer to its consumers as compared to the positive health effects. Body Main Body Paragraph 1: Positive Effects Of Energy Drinks Helps in enhancing performance by enhancing attention and alertness. Helps in keeping an individual hydrated. Helps in providing the added energy required by young athletes. Main Body Paragraph 1: Negative Health Effects Of Energy Drinks Disturbs the dental health of the consumer. Causes cardiac health issues and death. Causes caffeine intoxication which negatively effects consumer’s psychological health. Conclusion Energy drinks have more negative effects to offer to its consumers as compared to the positive health effects. This section will include a summary of all the key benefits and negative health consequences of energy drinks. In future research needs to focus on the relationship between energy drinks and obesity among the population of children of society. Advantages And Health Risks Associated With Energy Drinks Introduction Energy drink is a term used to refer to those drinks that comprises of several ingredients that are essentially needed in order to increase the energy of the consumer. The primary purpose of these drinks is to increase the degree of sports based performance of the consumers. Energy drinks may help in enhancing the performance of a particular athlete by helping elevate their concentration as well as the time they take to react to different stimuli (Burrows et al., 2013). In the recent years there has been a tremendous increase in the number of energy drinks being consumed on daily basis. Burrows et al. reports that within a 5 year period starting from 2004 and ending during 2009 there has been an increase of 240% in the sales of energy drinks (Burrows et al., 2013). Due to such an increase in the consumption of energy drinks, stakeholders have become quite concerned about the negative effects of energy drinks on the youth of the society. On the other hand there are those who defend energy drinks and state that energy drinks do not impact the health of the consumers in a negative manner. Energy drinks have more negative effects to offer to its consumers as compared to the positive health effects. Body Those who argue in the favor of energy drinks defend their stance by promoting the fact that energy drinks help in elevating the performance of its consumers. The proponents argue that energy drinks help in enhancing various performance related elements. They state that energy drinks comprise of various ingredients including caffeine that helps in substantially increasing the mental attention as well as alertness of those who are involved in physical activities such as sports and military combat. Johnson et al. has reported a study which helped in identifying that when individuals involved in physical activities consume around 3 to 6 mg/kg of caffeine their athletic as well as physical performance is elevated for up to 60 minutes (Johnson et al., 2014). Other than the enhancement of cognitive abilities required to perform better in physical activities, consuming energy drinks can even help in countering dehydration which further elevates performance and is even helpful in daily life. Energy drinks contain high amount of water and water itself is a very essential component of an individual’s daily diet. Water is even deemed as necessary as it helps children in their physical development. Water has been found to help children in attaining proper body size as they mature (Schneider et al., 2011). It has been quite profoundly cited that energy drinks are ruining the development of a particular child. But energy drinks contain ingredients such as carbohydrates that are very essential in order to provide energy to a child and help him/her remain active. Children who do not exercise may not require consumption of energy drinks to elevate their energy. But children who are indulged in physical activities may not be able to obtain abundant amount of carbohydrates and they may need to consume energy drinks to enhance their energy levels. Schneider et al. states that energy drink comprises of more than 19g of carbohydrates and these carbohydrates help in enhancing the energy of those children who are involved in physical activities (Schneider et al., 2011). Several health risks are associated with energy drinks such as Red Bull as well as Monster. One of the main negative effects of energy drinks is that it ruins the dental health of the consumer. A huge population of health drinks consumer is the children population and their dental health is being negatively impacted due to consumption of energy drinks. Schneider et al. has reported a study in which the researchers identified that children aging between 11 to 14 years old were experiencing enamel erosion as a result of consuming energy drinks because these drinks contained heavy amount of citric acid (Schneider et al., 2011). Other than dental health issues experienced by energy drink consumers, they even experience heart related health issues. Energy drinks comprise of heavy quantity of caffeine which negative impacts the cardiac health of an individual. According to Gunja et al. energy drinks contain as low as 50 mg of caffeine and this can cause severe cardiac issues such as cardiac arrhythmias as well as seizures and in case when caffeine is consumed in excessive quantities, the consumers may even end up experiencing death due to cardiac issues (Gunja et al., 2012). This study is a clear exhibition of the cardiac related health problems experienced by energy drink consumers. One of the major health issues associated with consuming energy drinks is caffeine intoxication that is mainly experienced by a consumer as a result of consuming energy drinks that comprise of high levels of caffeine. According to Reissig et al., Red Bull is one of the drinks that contain abundant amount of caffeine and is one of the energy drinks that cause caffeine intoxication (Reissig et al., 2009). An individual who suffers from caffeine intoxication experiences several symptoms including feeling of tenseness, over concern, sleeplessness as well as anger and hyperactivity (Reissig et al., 2009). This means that consumers of energy drinks are not only suffering from physical health issues such as dental health problems and cardiac health problems, they even experience several psychological health problems. The problem is that these harmful effects are quite prevalent within the young population of the entire world and these drinks are hampering their physical as well as psychological development (Arria, 2011). Reissig et al. has quoted a study which helped in identifying that harmful effects of caffeine consumption have been experienced by children who only age 13 years old (Reissig et al., 2009). Conclusion Energy drinks have more negative effects to offer to its consumers as compared to the positive health effects. Energy drinks help in enhancing the physical activities of children who are involved in sporting activities by enhancing their alertness and attention and by keeping them hydrated. Energy drinks even help in providing young sport players with the extra amount of energy that cannot be obtained through daily diet. On the contrary it ruins the dental health of the consumer and may even lead to heart related health issues. It even causes caffeine intoxication that negatively impacts the psychological health of the consumers. Further research needs to focus on the connection between childhood obesity and energy drinks since energy drinks contain higher quantity of ingredients that can cause obesity. References Arria, A. M. (2011). The “High” Risk of Energy Drinks. JAMA. 305, 600-601. Burrows, T., Pursey, K., Neve, M., & Stanwell, P. (2013). What are the health implications associated with the consumption of energy drinks? A systematic review. Nutrition Reviews. 71, 135-148. Gunja, N., & Brown, J.A. (2012). Energy drinks: health risks and toxicity. The Medical Journal of Australia. 196, 46-49. Johnson, L.A., Foster, D., & Mcdowell, J.C. (2014). Energy drinks: review of performance benefits, health concerns, and use by military personnel. Military Medicine. 179, 375-380. Reissig, C. J., Strain, E. C., & Griffiths, R. R. (2009). Caffeinated energy drinks--A growing problem. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 99, 1-10. Schneider, M. and Benjamin, H. (2011). Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents: are they appropriate?. Pediatrics, 127(6), pp.1182-1186. Read More