Energy drinks consumption among football players in Lagos, Nigeria
Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence, frequency and reasons for the consumption of energy drinks among members of registered football clubs in Lagos, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed and the study setting was Onikan Stadium Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 350 members of the football clubs.
Method: A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence, frequency and reasons for consumption of energy drinks. Epi Info® software (version 6.04) was used for data analysis.
Results: Most of the respondents (76.3%) were energy-drink consumers but none of them was a daily user. Most of those who took it (71.9%) drank at least two cans a week. Power Horse™ was the most preferred choice (58.4%) and more than one-third (37.1%) mixed it with alcohol. The commonest reasons for using energy drinks were leisure (42%), performance enhancement (25.1%) and drinking with friends (25.1%). Single students between ages 21 and 30 years consumed energy drinks more than married, younger or older workers (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The majority of the football players were weekly energy-drink users and the commonest reason for consumption was leisure. Although it can be expected that football players consume energy drinks to enhance their sporting performance, it was of concern to find that one-third of the football players mixed energy drinks with alcohol. Education regarding the effects of energy-drink consumption and alcohol is needed among the football players in Lagos.
Introduction
Global energy-drink consumption increased by 14% (i.e. 1.5 billion litres higher) between 2007 and 2011 and had grown by a mean of 10% yearly from 2007 to 2011. More than half of young adults consume a minimum of one can of energy drink monthly and about 6% use energy drinks daily.1,2 Most energy drinks contain natural products such as guarana, ginseng and/or taurine, but also as much as 50 to 505 mg of caffeine and 35 grams of processed sugar per 8-oz serving. The amounts of guarana, taurine and ginseng found in popular energy drinks are far below the amounts expected to deliver either therapeutic benefits or adverse events. However, the other ingredients with potential interactions such as between taurine and other amino acids and between caffeine and some herbal extracts can create ‘synergistic effects especially side effects’. On the other hand, caffeine and sugar are present in amounts known to cause a variety of adverse health effects.3–5
Caffeine from plant extracts that contain polyphenol has been associated with positive vascular health and improved blood flow as a result of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer qualities. Taurine has also been identified to enhance endurance performance and to aid in the reduction of lactic acid build-up after exercise.6 Several studies confirm that caffeine consumption can increase energy utilisation, enhance mood and alertness and improve exercise performance.7 Caffeine and other substances in energy drinks increase pain tolerance, allowing athletes to work out harder and longer thereby leading to enhanced performance.8 However, if consumed in excess amounts, energy drinks could have adverse effects on health. The adverse reactions and toxicity from high energy-drink consumption stem predominantly from their caffeine content, though the combination of caffeine with the other ingredients has synergistic effects that increase the side effects of energy drinks.9,10
Different brands of energy drinks contain caffeine ranging from 50 mg to 550 mg per can or bottle.10 Caffeine has a long history of safe use and scientific evidence maintains that when consumed in moderation (300–400 mg/day/adult) no adverse effects should occur. However, energy drinks are usually consumed rapidly, unlike coffee or tea. This can quickly increase the concentrations of caffeine and other ingredients in the blood, thereby increasing the risk of side effects. Toxicity from excess caffeine can result in nausea, dehydration, irregular headache, nervousness, irritability, increased respiration, insomnia, hallucinations, poor academic performance, aggressive behaviour, tachycardia and cardiac dysrhythmias, hypokalaemia, paralysis, cerebral oedema, rhabdomyolysis, sudden cardiac death, and psychosis.11,12 The increasing reports of caffeine intoxication from energy drinks indicate that caffeine dependence and withdrawal could also increase after short-term, high-dose use.1,13 Taking an excess dose of energy drinks before or during exercise might also be linked to an increased risk of myocardial ischaemia while the elevated sugar quantity in energy drinks contributes to obesity.14,15
Some brands of energy drinks are labelled as conventional foods while others are labelled as dietary supplements. Substances that are generally recognised as safe by qualified experts can be added to conventional foods without pre-approval from the FDA; therefore, energy drinks are not properly regulated.16 This lack of regulation has allowed aggressive promotion of energy drinks in many countries including Nigeria and these promotions are usually targeted towards 18- to 35-year-old highly active and risk-taking consumers and athletes. Athletes are increasingly using energy drinks because of the ergogenic effects.17Adolescents and young adults are particularly attracted to energy drinks not just because of effective product marketing but due to peer influence and lack of knowledge of the potentially harmful effects.18 The urge to improve performance causes athletes to take energy drinks before contests because the drinks have been promoted as boosting performance and endurance.15 In spite of the well-documented consequences of frequent and high consumption of energy drinks,19 little is known about the consumption frequency of energy drinks among football players in Lagos, Nigeria. This study, therefore, determined the prevalence, brand and reasons for consumption of energy drinks among registered football players in Lagos State, Nigeria. This will offer useful information for football players, dietitians, sports professionals, the Nigerian regulatory authority and the media on the use of energy drinks among football players in Lagos State.
Materials and methods
Study setting and population
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study and was conducted at Onikan Stadium, which is the headquarters of the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA). Inclusion criteria were football players who are members of the clubs registered with the LSFA.
Sampling procedure
Sixty amateur football clubs, consisting of 55 men’s clubs and five women’s clubs, were registered with the LSFA in 2016. Each club had an average of 30 football players, giving a total of about 1 800 football players in the football clubs registered with the LSFA in 2016. The minimum sample size calculated was 301. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 15 clubs and all the members of each club were interviewed to give a total of 350 football players.
Instrument and pre-testing of instrument
A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire was developed from past literature on consumption of energy drinks, especially among football players.2,3,18–23,29 It consisted of questions on frequency, reasons for use and brands preferred. The questionnaire was pre-tested among 20 football players in one of the clubs that were not selected for the study (based at another stadium) to detect ambiguity, and necessary adjustments were made before the study.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND DATA FOR ENERGY DRINKS IN NIGERIA:
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