AUTHOR=Granda Dominika , Surała Olga , Malczewska-Lenczowska Jadwiga , Szczepańska Beata , Pastuszak Anna , Sarnecki Radosław 

TITLE=Energy Drink Consumption Among Physically Active Polish Adolescents: Gender and Age-Specific Public Health Issue

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 69 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2024.1606906

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2024.1606906

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Objectives: To analyse the consumption of energy drinks (EDs) and the motives for their consumption contributing factors inamong physically active adolescents living in Poland.Methods: A nationwide survey study was conducted in 1530 adolescents (10-14 years old) participating in extracurricular, organised sports activities. A computer-assisted web interview method was applied.Results: Nearly half (46.4%) of the respondents were ED consumers (significantly more boys than girls: 53.0% vs 47.0%, p=0.010). The percentage of ED consumers increased with age, from 27.2% in 10-year-olds to 65.4% in the group of 14-year-olds (p<0.001). The motives and circumstances of ED consumption varied depending on the gender: girls were more likely than boys to drink EDs to improve concentration during studying (17.1 vs 8.8%, p<0.001) and to stay awake (22.8 vs 13.8%, p=0.002), whereas boys more often than girls reported drinking EDs during physical activity (10.9 vs 6.0%, p=0.020).It is necessary to implement gender-diversified educational campaigns on negative health effects of EDs, targeting children, parents and teachers, as consumption of EDs has been identified as a significant public health problem in Poland.