Alafif Nora, Al-Rashed Anfal, Altowairqi Khadija, Muharraq Atheer
Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021 Aug;28(8):4511-4515. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.04.050. Epub 2021 Apr 24.
To determine the prevalence of Energy Drinks (ED) consumption, and the adverse effects experienced by consumers among governmental university students in Riyadh, and to assess the relationship between ED consumption and dietary habits. This is a cross-sectional study carried out in 2020 in a random sample of students at government universities in Riyadh (King Saud University (KSU) and Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). The study was conducted within a time frame of 3 months which included a total of 546 students. The data collection tool was an online self-administered questionnaire that included three sections. The first section addressed the characteristics of the students, the second section addressed ED consumption, and the third section addressed the dietary habits of ED consumers. A SPSS software-based analysis revealed that the percentage of ED consumers in our cohort was 29.3%. Moreover, we found a significant association between ED consumption and consumption of fewer than three meals, skipping breakfast, and fast food intake (χ = 0.002, = 0.364; χ = 0.028, = 0.341; and (χ = 0.010, = 0.369, respectively), with moderate correlation. No association was found between the consumption of EDs and that of fruits, vegetables, and snacks. Moreover, 36% of the consumers experienced jolt-and-crash symptoms and signs after ED consumption, with 84.5% of them exhibiting increased consumption of salty snacks, sweets, and fast food during the episodes. Our findings showed that ED consumption is not a common practice among governmental university students in Riyadh. Furthermore, the consumption of EDs was correlated with unhealthy dietary habits. Creating educational programs for school going students and providing healthy alternative options to the students is highly recommend. Future research should be conducted using a larger sample and including universities from the private sector, to compare the results.
为确定利雅得政府大学学生中能量饮料（ED）的消费流行率以及消费者所经历的不良影响，并评估能量饮料消费与饮食习惯之间的关系。这是一项于2020年对利雅得政府大学（沙特国王大学（KSU）和伊玛目穆罕默德·本·沙特伊斯兰大学（IMSIU））的学生进行的随机抽样横断面研究。该研究在3个月的时间内进行，共纳入546名学生。数据收集工具是一份在线自填问卷，包括三个部分。第一部分涉及学生的特征，第二部分涉及能量饮料消费情况，第三部分涉及能量饮料消费者的饮食习惯。基于SPSS软件的分析显示，我们队列中能量饮料消费者的比例为29.3%。此外，我们发现能量饮料消费与三餐摄入少于三次、不吃早餐以及快餐摄入之间存在显著关联（χ² = 0.002，P = 0.364；χ² = 0.028，P = 0.341；χ² = 0.010，P = 0.369），相关性为中等。未发现能量饮料消费与水果、蔬菜和零食消费之间存在关联。此外，36% 的消费者在饮用能量饮料后出现心悸和疲劳症状及体征，其中84.5% 的人在这些发作期间咸味零食、甜食和快餐的摄入量增加。我们的研究结果表明，在利雅得的政府大学学生中，饮用能量饮料并非普遍现象。此外，能量饮料的消费与不健康的饮食习惯相关。强烈建议为在校学生制定教育计划，并为学生提供健康的替代选择。未来的研究应使用更大的样本并纳入私立部门的大学，以比较结果。
