THE FREQUENCY AND IMPACT OF ENERGY DRINK CONSUMPTION ON BMI AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT ALNOOR UNIVERSITY

Energy drink consumption has increased among college students, but its impact on health measures like body mass index (BMI) is not well understood, particularly in Iraqi populations.

This study aimed to characterize energy drink intake patterns and investigate associations with BMI among undergraduate students at Alnoor University in Iraq.

A cross-sectional survey of 270 students collected data on demographics, energy drink intake frequency, sleep duration, physical activity levels, and measured BMI. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and Fisher's exact tests analyzed relationships between variables.

Over 45% of students consumed energy drinks, with 9.3% drinking them ≥4 times/week. Males consumed energy drinks more frequently than females (p<0.001). Energy drink intake frequency was not significantly associated with BMI categories (p=0.399) or sleep duration (p=0.632). Half of students slept ≤6 hours/night and 53.7% exercised <1 hour/week. Based on BMI, 35.9% were overweight, 13% obese, and 1.1% morbidly obese.

Energy drink consumption was common in this Iraqi college population, especially among males, but was not significantly related to BMI or sleep duration. Students had high rates of overweight/obesity and insufficient sleep and physical activity. Universities should promote healthy lifestyles in this at-risk group.