FREQUENCY OF ENERGY DRINK CONSUMPTION AMONG KHYBER MEDICAL UNIVERSITY–INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES KOHAT PAKISTAN

Abstract

Objective:  The main objective was to assess the prevalence of energy drink consumption among undergraduate medical students of a public medical college in Kohat Pakistan

Materials and Methods: After ethical approval, a cross-sectional study was conducted from February to September 2024 at the Department of Community Medicine KMU-Institute of Medical Sciences Kohat. Relevant information was collected using a self-structured questionnaire that included all the direct and indirect variables, such as demographics and other determinants of energy drinks. The data was analyzed using SPSS-23.

Results: The study involved 228 MBBS students from first to final year. Among them, 160 (70.2%) reported drinking energy drinks, and 68 (29.8%) said they did not. Most participants were male, with 146 males (64%) and 82 females (36%). In terms of how often they drank energy drinks, 70 students (30.7%) had them once a day, 16 (7%) drank them twice a day, and 10 (4.4%) had them three times a day. Only 4 students (1.8%) consumed more than three energy drinks daily, and 62 (27.2%) drank them occasionally. Additionally, 88 students (38.6%) had tried to stop drinking energy drinks, while 74 (32.5%) had never attempted to quit. Eight students (3.5%) also smoked while drinking energy drinks, but most, 154 students (67.5%), did not smoke. Taste is the primary motivation for consuming energy or cold drinks, with 92 (40.4%) of respondents prioritizing flavor, social gatherings also play a significant role, attracting 42 (18.4%) consumers.

Conclusions
The study concluded that the prevalence of energy drink consumption was high among the study participants and showed a strong relationship with age, year of study, taste and social gatherings, monthly pocket money, residence, and physical exercise, etc. Thus, effective strategies are needed to reduce the frequency among medical students.

Keywords: Energy drinks consumption, frequency of energy drinks consumption, Sting, Red Bull