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Vying for the dollars of teenagers and college students with promises of weight loss, increased endurance and legal highs, energy drinks make up a $3.4 billion-a-year industry that grew by 80 percent last year.
"I think energy drinks are largely a waste of money," said Robert Chapkin, a professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Services.
Many Texas A&M students use energy drinks like Red Bull and SoBe to keep them awake to study.
"I need it to stay awake," said George Castillo, a sophomore accounting major.
Chapkin said the caffeine in energy drinks will keep drinkers awake; however, caffeine can come at a price. Poison control centers receive several reports a year of caffeine overdoses.
Some products, although served in cans two-thirds the size of a standard soft drink, contain two to four times the amount of caffeine than Coca-Cola, according to a University of Florida study.
Energy drinks are now moving toward bigger cans. Some are raising the caffeine content to gain a competitive edge.
"High levels of caffeine might cause the heart to race in some individuals," Chapkin said. "Also, the drinks are loaded with calories, so you had better exercise a lot or you can gain weight."
Some nutritionists are also concerned with the extreme levels of B vitamins present in the drinks. When taken in large doses, they can cause rapid heartbeat, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet.
Earlier this month, a new study found a number of caffeine overdose reports to a Chicago poison control center. These involved young people taking alertness pills such as NoDoz or energy drinks, sometimes mixed with alcohol or other drugs. During three years of reports to the center, the researchers found 265 cases of caffeine abuse. Twelve percent of those required a trip to the hospital. The average age of the caffeine user was 21.
"Danger only adds to the appeal," said Bryan Greenburg, a marketing consultant. "Young people need to break away from the bonds of adults and what society thinks is right. Heart palpitations aren't likely to scare them off."
Greenburg is right, Castillo said.
"Energy drinks aren't good for me at all, but sometimes you just need it to stay awake."
Some students use energy drinks to increase their athletic performance. There is debate over whether this is effective.
"Caffeine is the major 'active' component," Chapkin said. "This may help in long-term aerobic exercise by reducing glycogen depletion, associated with fatigue."
However, the Swedish government studied energy drinks and recommended that they not be used to quench thirst or replenish liquid when exercising.
The Swedish government also discourages mixing energy drinks with alcohol. A Brazilian study found college students didn't feel as drunk as they actually were after drinking vodka and Red Bull.
Their perception of their coordination and reaction time didn't match objective tests.
The potential for accidents and alcohol poisoning worries Dr. Sandra Braganza, a pediatrician and nutrition expert at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York. As she prepared to write an article about energy drinks for a pediatrics journal, she was surprised how little published research she could find on them.
"The truth is, we don't know what kind of effects these ingredients can have," Braganza said of taurine, glucuronolactone and guarana. "We have to start doing more studies on this."
-The Associated Press contributed to this report
