Consumption's Pattern and Knowledge of Athletes about Energy Drink in South of Iran (Shiraz)

Abstract

During the last years, sports and energy drink consumption has continued to gain popularity among young people in Iran. Obviously, according to the fact that 66% of 70-million population in Iran are aged less than 30 years and also a growing consumer purchasing power as a result of a growing economy, urbanization and access to quality raw material have been the main drivers of the rapid growth of the energy drinks industry and clients. The purpose of this study is to determine the consumption’s pattern of energy drinks among athletes. Totally, 800 athletes (400 males and 400 females) from Fitting and bodybuilding Clubs in Shiraz were included in this study. Subjects were expected to do a questionnaire which was about their personal characteristics, knowledge about energy drinks and their consumption frequency. Mean age was 24.9±6.6 in sport men and 27.5±9.4 in sport women. Participants were divided into two groups: 54.7% consumers of energy drinks and 45.3% non-consumers. Male consumers were 57.5% which was higher than female consumers. 51.4% of energy drink consumers had university degree, 36% had diploma and 12.6% did not finish high school while none of them were illiterate. Using energy drinks is common among athletes especially in Fitting and bodybuilding Clubs for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, side effects from consuming energy drinks are not sensible. Results of this study showed that most of the participants do not know about ingredients of energy drinks. Our findings have numerous practical applications for athletes.