as im drinking my new favourite drink, superman, wondering what the long term effects will be of peoples increased need of energy drinks. Not only are there long term health risks such as heart problems and increase risk of such illnesses as diabetes and general health problems including tooth decay due to over consumption but also short term risks. These are dramaticaly increased also by the mixing with alcohol, to the point where in certain places such drinks as vodka red-bull and jagerbombs were banned. However lollywater drinks where vodka is mixed with sugar and a caffine/taurine/guarana concotion are still particularly popular. Often people went out clubbing they were being dehydrated due to dancing vigorously throughtout the night and sculling their energy drinks as if they do only contain sugar, leading to a high number of emergency casualties. In europe, particularly in France it is very hard to find the much loved red-bull drink.
Originally used to cure jetlag this drink has now become such a label and phonomenon that they now sponser huge sporting and adrenalin events particularly snowboarding, skateboarding and air racing.
This has influenced our culture, particularly amongst young people and their university work, with a significant amount of students exceeding the recomended intake by a big amount. It is just now thought of as the way to do the work or in some cases taking such stimulants as no doze with their caffinated drinks.
So what are the effects on our behaviour with it having such slogans as give you wings and energy of a hero for the new superman drink? although partiuclarly drinks that advertise the guarana aspect such as V for increased concentration over consumption can increase hyperactivity and have a negative impact on concentration. It can also lull you into a false sense of security with the quality of work being produced, not only academically but within the greater community network with these drinks being relied on in conjunction with the good old coffee to keep people who work night or long hours awake.
So where are they heading, they keep pushing the boundaries not only with product placement but through the quanties of the ingredients that are allowed in the drinks, and the current climate and trends suggst that people are going to at least for the next little while keep grabbing the cans of goodstuff! what is perhaps more worrying is that young kids are gettin addicted, although the drink doesnt recommend consumption for under 16s there is a high majority of children as young as 8 drinking this stuff regularly, could be a contributor or have negative effect on ADHD sufferers and those medicated for it.
So really what im asking is what are your thoughts on these drinks, as a student, as part of the Canberra and Australia at large community and is the government fairly regulating them. Do you think that there are real risks or is it just a lot of hype, any personal experiences you wish to share would be fantastic :)
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5 comments:
This would make for an excellent research study!
To some extent, I think energy is a zero-sum game, i.e., you have more now, but pay for it later. No easy rides.
There is some general empirical evidence, e.g., those who sleep more, tend to live longer.
Personally I still find simple caffeine drinks (coffee and coke) to provide more stimulation than energy drinks. Something about the raw mix of sugar and caffeine seems to give me more jump than syrupy energy drinks like V and Red Bull. Also I don’t know if anyone has ever noticed it but V is almost the precise shade of yellow as human urine. Bit of a turn off.
One thing I have noticed is the fashionable nature of being addicted to caffeine (as coffee). It’s seen as a sign of being always on the go, working like a professional, and pulling late work hours to get the job done (all good qualities for the typical capitalist drone).
Energy drinks are different; they are associated with vibrant, bubbly young people who need that extra jolt to help them dance the night away.
I wonder whether in years to come the two will change places, and as today’s young dancers become tomorrow’s broken-printer-fixers, energy drinks will replace coffee as having a professional and work motivated image.
Hey Bre,
I was speaking to a fellow student from social psych this morning. Funnily enough we were having coffee before our exam (just for a morning kick of course). We walked past the café and I said “maybe I should buy a redbull as well to keep me alert and wake during the exam”.
Don’t you think though that these days so many foods and drinks are considered ‘bad for you’. Many myths are put forward such as ‘chocolate can give you pimples, talking on mobile phones can give you cancer, too much pork, ham and bacon can give you high blood pressure’. Some of these concepts may have some truths to them and others can be condemned a myth.
I had a bad experience at a festival a few years back when it was one of my friends’ turns to buy the next round of drinks. She came back with double vodkas and redbull for the group. Well I’m not known to be able to handle much alcohol and so after I’d had this drink that was pretty much the end of my night and I was extremely sick. I don’t think energy drinks are really meant to be mixed with alcohol…It’s like ‘jager bombs’ (for those unsure of what these are it’s a jagermeister shot dropped in to a glass of redbull). Yes fair enough these do taste good but it surprises me that they’re so readily served to drunken people in clubs and pubs.
I’ve heard stories of the effects and harm that energy drinks like ‘red bull V and mother’ can do to people if they consume too many in a short period of time. But unlike cigarette packaging they aren’t really branded with the negative side effects on the cans are they? If these drinks are really as bad as I’ve heard then should something be done to educate people about them?
Some food for thought.
Jacqui
You have raised some very interesting questions there Bree.
I have to admit that i have a pretty shocking history when it comes to energy drinks. When it comes to assignments i can never get motivated early, and i am always the type of person who ends up working till 6:00am the morning before the work is due. Unfortunately it is a habit i got myself into early, and now i can't get out of it. So when it gets to the night before an exam, i can usually be found in Building 10 with at least 2 empty bottles of V with me.
Basically i have conditioned myself to do it that way. It all started with my first few assignments at university in which i was rewarded (given good marks) for that behaviour (doing it at the last minute).
At the same time i am a smoker (although i frequently go months without smoking). My problem is that i seem to write essays etc so much better when i smoke while i do it. I can't explain it, but whenever i have a smoke, all my thoughts just fall into place, and i can churn out 2000 words in no time.
Anyway, just thought i would give you my perspective on the use and abuse of energy drinks!
Cheers
Chris
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