The Cardiovascular Changes and Cognitive Effects of Energy Drink - Research Paper Example

Over the last few decades, there has been a witnessed increase in popularity of diet/health food and other food fads, and a concurrent rise in the popularity and demand for functional foods, an example of which are energy drinks, such as Red Bull (Smit et al., 2004; Finnegan, 2003). Energy Drinks are categorized as “stimulant drinks,” which have been defined by the Stimulant Drinks Committee as ‘a beverage which typically contains caffeine, taurine and vitamin(s) and may contain an energy source (e.g. carbohydrate) and/or other substance(s), marketed for the specific purpose of providing real or perceived enhanced physiological and/or performance effects (Stimulant Drinks Committee, 2003, p. iv).’ The manufacturers of Energy Drinks claim that such drinks enhance both mental and physical functions, resulting in improved physical endurance, increased alertness and concentration, augmented reaction speed and an elevated mood (Kim, 2003; Kaminer, 2010).

“Energy Drinks” are so-called because they are thought to be stimulant in nature, providing the consumers with an instant boost of energy and alertness and decreasing lethargy and sleepiness, have been present in the global market in their current guise from the late nineties, but under the banner stimulant drinks, these have been sold and marketed for many years, and have been gaining widespread fame ever since (Kim, 2003). For example, Lucozade, a UK branded energy drink was first launched in 1927 and is now manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK-GlaxoSmithKline, 2010).

Statistics reveal that the consumption of energy drinks worldwide has been increasing steadily. It was observed that between the years 2008-2009, the annual consumption of energy drinks in the United Kingdom went up by 5%, with almost 390 million litres of such drinks being sold during the year 2009 only (British Soft Drinks Association, 2010), and the annual sales of these drinks amount to approximately £1 billion (Mintel International Group Ltd., 2005).