Hunter
08/31/23
A new University of Iowa health assessment indicates that consumption of energy drinks is rising past the national average.
The Gazette reports among a sample of nearly 1900 UI undergraduate students who completed a National College Health Assessment in the spring, 21 percent said they had consumed energy drinks or shots on at least five days in the last month — more than double the 9 percent who said so in 2021 and nearly double the 12 percent of undergraduates who said so nationally, according to a most recent fall 2022 survey.
The same holds true for graduate students, with 12 percent reporting drinking five or more in the last month, compared with 6 percent in 2021.
Compared to the last survey in 2021, undergraduate high-risk drinking, vaping and cigarette smoking rose, which UI Student Wellness Associate Director Trisha Welter said could be attributed to the fact that many students in spring 2021 were not physically on campus due to the pandemic. Unsafe or unhealthy behaviors were possibly curtailed due to the fact that students were with their families instead of on their own.
Energy drinks can disrupt sleep patterns, which are already irregular for college students. More than three-quarters of UI undergraduate respondents reported feeling tired or sleepy three or more days a week.
26 percent reported using e-cigarettes or some kind of vape product in the last three months, up from 22 percent two years ago. And cigarette use is up for the first time in years, with 11 percent of undergrads reported having a smoke in the last three months, up from 8 percent in 2021.
And high-risk drinking, involving 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more for women, is up considerably from two years ago. 40 percent say they’ve had at least one day of high-risk drinking in the last two weeks, compared to 33 percent in 2021.
A link to the full report: