Energy drink consumption and impact on caffeine risk

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health
• Toxicology

Background:

• Caffeine exposure in New Zealand includes background sources like coffee, tea, cocoa, and soft drinks.
• Energy drinks represent an additional source of caffeine with varying product volumes and concentrations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess caffeine exposure from energy drinks and background sources in the New Zealand population.
• To determine if energy drink consumption, alone or combined with other sources, leads to exceeding the acceptable caffeine intake level.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2008/09 New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey (ANS) for 4503 participants aged 15+.
• Combined food concentration data for 53 caffeine-containing items with consumption data.
• Assessed energy drink consumption for 138 individuals, analyzing 47 products available in 2010.

Main Results:

• Only 3.1% of New Zealanders consumed energy drinks, with most consuming one serving daily.
• A greater number exceeded the acceptable effect level (AEL) of 3 mg/kg body weight/day from background caffeine sources than from energy drinks.
• Individuals, particularly teenagers, adults (20-64), and females (16-44), were more likely to exceed the AEL when combining energy drinks with other caffeinated foods.

Conclusions:

• Energy drink consumption does not pose a risk at the population level in New Zealand due to low prevalence.
• Individual risk of exceeding safe caffeine levels exists, especially for specific demographics, through combined consumption of energy drinks and other caffeinated products.