Apr 20th, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Title
Availability of Energy Drinks on a College Campus: A Descriptive Study
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Elaine Long
Information
Energy drinks have continued to gain popularity since the introduction of Red Bull in 1997 (Boyle, M., Castillo, VD. 2006). In one self-report survey, 51% of college students reported consuming more than one energy drink per month (Malinauskas, B., Aeby, V., Overton, R., Carpenter-Aeby, T., Barber-Heidal, K. 2007). College students use energy drinks for many reasons including as a study aid, to enhance athletic performance, and as a mental stimulant (Bichler 2006; Froiland, Koszewski, Hingst, Kopecky 2004). The growing trend of energy drink consumption by college students prompted the research question: Where are energy drinks sold on the Boise State campus? Five Boise State University Health Science Students were responsible for collecting the surveillance data. Every building on campus was accounted for and a map was created to visually see where energy drinks could be purchased. The results were surprising in the fact that not many buildings had vending machines that sold energy drinks. This study prompted additional questions for future research such as: policies for sale of energy drinks on campus; volume of energy drink sales by location; and changes in energy drink sales over time.