Estimating caffeine intake from energy drinks and dietary supplements in the United States

Abstract

No consistent definition exists for energy products in the United States. These products have been marketed and sold as beverages (conventional foods), energy shots (dietary supplements), and in pill or tablet form. Recently, the number of available products has surged, and formulations have changed to include caffeine. To help characterize the use of caffeine-containing energy products in the United States, three sources of data were analyzed: sales data, data from federal sources, and reports from the Drug Abuse Warning Network. These data indicate that sales of caffeine-containing energy products and emergency room visits involving their consumption appear to be increasing over time. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2010 indicate that 2.7% [standard error (SE) 0.2%] of the US population ≥1 year of age used a caffeine-containing energy product, providing approximately 150-200 mg/day of caffeine per day in addition to caffeine from traditional sources like coffee, tea, and colas. The highest usage of these products was among males between the ages of 19 and 30 years (7.6%, SE 1.0). Although the prevalence of caffeine-containing energy product use remains low overall in the US population, certain subgroups appear to be using these products in larger amounts. Several challenges remain in determining the level of caffeine exposure from and accurate usage patterns of caffeine-containing energy products.

Assessing dietary exposure to caffeine from beverages in the U.S. population using brand-specific versus category-specific caffeine values

“…These details make it possible to develop a database that may provide a level of detail for estimating caffeine exposure that may not be present in other surveys. Since the data are collected prospectively, there is likely less error associated with memory as in other retrospective methods used in some recent reports of caffeine exposure (Ahluwalia et al, 2014;Bailey et al, 2014;Branum et al, 2014; Institute of Medicine and National Academy of Sciences, 2014). Because very little caffeine comes from food sources other than beverages, it would seem that there may be a significant advantage to collecting data solely on beverages.…”

Taurine, energy drinks, and neuroendocrine effects

“…1 In 2012, US sales of energy drinks exceeded $12 billion, 19 with young men, particularly those in the military deployed in war zones, being the biggest consumers. [20][21][22] Analyses have found that of 49 nonalcoholic energy drinks tested, the average concentration of taurine was 3,180 mg/L, or approximately 750 mg per 8-oz serving. 23,24 Popular brands include Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar (Table 1), NOS, Amp, and Full Throttle.…”

Energy Drink Consumption : Beneficial and Adverse Health Effects

“…The annual consumption of energy drinks in 2013 exceeded 5.8 billion liters in around 160 countries. (3) The estimated total U.S. retail market value for energy drinks was around 12.5 billion USD in 2012 and the market increased 56% from 2006 to 2002. (2) Manufacturers recently have shifted their consumer focus from athletes to young people.…”