Connaissances et consommation des boissons énergisantes par des professionnels et des amateurs du football algérien / Knowledge and consumption of energy drinks by professionals and amateurs of algerian football

Introduction et objectif : Les boissons énergisantes (BE) sont de plus en plus populaires en Algérie ainsi qu'ailleurs dans le monde. Elles sont particulièrement consommées par les sportifs qui les confondent souvent avec les boissons énergétiques. Le présent travail vise à évaluer les connaissances et les habitudes de consommation des BE en milieu footballistique. Méthodes : il s'agit d'une étude transversale à visée descriptive via un questionnaire auprès des professionnels et des amateurs du football du moment où ce dernier occupe une place prééminente par rapport à d'autres sports. Les données ont été traitées par les logiciels Excel et SPSS et les résultats comparatifs ont été estimés par le test de khi-deux avec un niveau de signification de p<5%. Résultats : L'étude a été réalisée auprès de 165 joueurs (appartenant à 14 clubs), 27 arbitres et 13 entraîneurs. Les résultats révèlent une consommation accrue des BE (63,90%) qui commence après le début du parcours sportif (50,38%), notamment par les jeunes joueurs et arbitres, croyant aux vertus attribuées à ces boissons, comme l'amélioration des performances, négligeant les effets potentiels sur la santé. Presque tous les enquêtés affirment connaître ces breuvages (97%), et pourtant seuls 22% connaissent leur composition, uniquement 27% font la distinction entre ces derniers et les boissons énergétiques, 16% les trouvent bonnes pour la santé et 59% pensent qu'elles améliorent les performances physiques. Conclusion : Des mesures de prévention et une réglementation spécifiques aux BE doivent être profondément étudiées et mises en place.

Introduction and objective: Energy drinks are becoming increasingly popular in Algeria and elsewhere in the world. They are particularly consumed by athletes who often confuse them with "sport drinks". This study aims to assess the knowledge and consumption habits of energy drinks in a football environment. Methods: we realized a cross-sectional survey via questionnaire among professionals and amateurs of football because the latter occupies a prominent place compared to other sports. The data were handled by Excel and SPSS softwares and the comparative results were estimated by the Chi-square test with a significance level of p < 5%. Results: The study included 165 players - belonging to 14 clubs-, 27 referees and 13 coaches. Results indicate increased consumption of these drinks (63.90%) wich starts after beginning the Sports activities (50.38%), in particular by the young players and referees, believing in the virtues attributed to these beverages, such as improving performance, neglecting the potential health effects. Almost all of the investigated claim to know energy drinks (97%), and nevertheless only 22% know their composition, only 27% make the distinction between these beverages and the sport drinks, 16% find them good for the health and 59% thinks that they improve the physical performance. Conclusion: Prevention measures and regulations specific in energy drinks must be deeply studied and put in place.

Energy drinks consumption among football players in Lagos, Nigeria

Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence, frequency and reasons for the consumption of energy drinks among members of registered football clubs in Lagos, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed and the study setting was Onikan Stadium Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select 350 members of the football clubs.Method: A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence, frequency and reasons for consumption of energy drinks. Epi Info® software (version 6.04) was used for data analysis.Results: Most of the respondents (76.3%) were energy-drink consumers but none of them was a daily user. Most of those who took it (71.9%) drank at least two cans a week. Power Horse™ was the most preferred choice (58.4%) and more than one-third (37.1%) mixed it with alcohol. The commonest reasons for using energy drinks were leisure (42%), performance enhancement (25.1%) and drinking with friends (25.1%). Single students between ages 21 and 30 years consumed energy drinks more than married, younger or older workers (p < 0.05).Conclusions: The majority of the football players were weekly energy-drink users and the commonest reason for consumption was leisure. Although it can be expected that football players consume energy drinks to enhance their sporting performance, it was of concern to find that one-third of the football players mixed energy drinks with alcohol. Education regarding the effects of energy-drink consumption and alcohol is needed among the football players in Lagos

Effects of long-term consumption of energy drinks on the body and brain weights of adult Wistar rats

Background: Effects of long-term consumption of energy drinks commonly used as flavored beverage drinks on the body and brain weights of adult Wistar rats was carefully studied. Materials and Methods: Twenty adult Wistar rats; with average weight of 200 g were randomly assigned into treatment (n = 10) and control (n = 10) groups. The rats in the treatment group received energy drinks and distilled water alternatively on a daily basis for 10 h and 14 h liberally for 30 days while the control group received distilled water liberally for the 30 days. The weight of the rats were measured daily during the period of the study. The rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation on the 31st day of the experiment; and the brain was carefully dissected out; weighed using Mettler Toledo weighing balance. The values obtained from the control and treatment groups were recorded and compared statistically using the unpaired sample t-test and symmetric measured test of the statistical package for social sciences. Results: The results of this experiment indicated that there was a significant (P 0.05) increase in the body and brain weights (g); and a significant (P 0.05) decrease in relative brain weight () of the treated animals with energy drinks as compared to the control group. Conclusion: Long-term consumption of energy drinks could; therefore; have adverse effects on the body and brain weights of adult Wistar rats. Recommendation: We suggest that further studies aimed at corroborating these observations in humans be carried out