Wilhelm P, van Diepen M A C, Nieuwenhuis L, Boulogne T L A
Universiteit Twente, Enschede.
Tijdschr Psychiatr. 2013;55(1):57-62.
Manufacturers of energy drinks claim that their drinks can have a positive effect on cognitive performance. So far, there is little evidence that energy drinks do in fact enhance the cognitive performance of adolescents.
To find out, via a series of tests, whether the manufacturers of energy drinks are justified in claiming that their drinks improve the cognitive performance of young people.
In a quasi-experimental design a number of young people (aged 15-18) were divided into three groups: a control group, each of whose members drank water beforehand; a placebo group whose members drank a glass of sugar-free lemonade, and an experimental group whose members drank a currently available energy drink (Megaforce). Pencil and paper tests were administered to the members of each group in order to measure attention and concentration, learning ability, memory, verbal and numerical reasoning, numerical aptitude and vocabulary.
No significant differences between groups were found that could solely be ascribed to the effect of energy drink.
Given the warnings about the potential health-risks of energy drinks and the fact that no evidence was found for positive effects of energy drinks on the cognitive performance of young people, we are of the opinion that youngsters should stay away from such drinks.
能量饮料制造商宣称他们的饮料对认知表现有积极影响。到目前为止，几乎没有证据表明能量饮料确实能提高青少年的认知表现。
通过一系列测试，查明能量饮料制造商宣称他们的饮料能提高年轻人认知表现的说法是否合理。
在一项准实验设计中，一些年轻人（15 - 18岁）被分为三组：一个对照组，其成员事先喝水；一个安慰剂组，其成员喝一杯无糖柠檬水；一个实验组，其成员喝一种市面上现有的能量饮料（强力饮料）。对每组成员进行纸笔测试，以测量注意力、专注力、学习能力、记忆力、语言和数字推理、数字能力及词汇量。
未发现各组之间存在仅可归因于能量饮料影响的显著差异。
鉴于能量饮料存在潜在健康风险的警告，以及未发现能量饮料对年轻人认知表现有积极影响的事实，我们认为年轻人应远离此类饮料。
