Energy Drinks Providing Real or Perceived Enhanced Physiological and Performance Effects - Research Paper Example

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 liters 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). It is interesting to note that the age group in which the consumption of such drinks is the highest is between 11-35 years (Ballard et al.

, 2010 cited in Higgins et al., 2010). Such drinks are common amongst the adolescent age group, in particular, amongst students due to a variety of reasons including the perception that these drinks help to boost one’s performance especially during athletic performances and during exams, help in overcoming fatigue and sleepiness and also because such drinks have now become a fad nowadays and are widely available during parties and other social gatherings (Paddock, 2008). There are several varieties of Energy Drinks available commercially and amongst them, Red Bull is one of the most well known and commonly consumed Energy Drink in the UK (Ragsdale, et al.

, 2010; Mintel International Group Ltd., 2005). The key active ingredients of this drink include caffeine (approximately 32 mg/dL), taurine (approximately 400 mg/dL), glucuronolactone (approximately 240 mg/dL), and sugar (as an energy source) (Kim, 2003; Ragsdale, et al., 2010). In addition, these drinks also contain water and small quantities of some vitamins and minerals (Ragsdale, et al., 2010). Amongst the active ingredients, caffeine and taurine are found to contribute most significantly towards the aforementioned positive effects.

Table 1 below illustrates the different components of various commercially available in the market nowadays.