Consumption Patterns and Side Effects of Energy Drinks among University Students in Palestine: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

This study describes the patterns of energy drinks consumption and associated factors among University students in Palestine. A cross-sectional study was conducted at An-Najah National University in Nablus, West Bank-Palestine. The study included 279 students of three colleges: Medicine, Physical Education and Engineering. Data were collected using a 25-item self-administered questionnaire. Energy-drink consumption was significantly higher among male students, as 80.5% of energy-drink users involved in this study was males. It was higher among those with higher monthly expenditure. The most common cause for using energy drinks among users was to stay awake at night (68.6%), while most of those who never tried energy drinks in their lives didn’t do so because they thought energy drinks are unhealthy. About two thirds (64.4%) of the participants didn’t know the main constituents of energy drinks and about half (53.6%) stated that they knew that there might be side effects associated with the use of energy drinks. More than half of the current users (56.8%) consumed less than 1 bottle/day. Energy-drink usage is common among university students in Palestine and higher among males and those with higher monthly expenditure. Campaigns should be encouraged in order to spread awareness about the contents and possible side effects of energy drinks.