Prevalence, Knowledge, and Attitudes of Energy Drink Consumption Among University Students in the United Arab Emirates: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background The consumption of energy drinks (EDs) among university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not been extensively studied. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence, attitudes, and knowledge regarding EDs among university students in the UAE. Objective The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, attitudes, motives, consumption patterns, and practices toward ED consumption among university students in the UAE. Furthermore, knowledge levels of ingredients and side effects were assessed. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted via non-probability volunteer sampling to collect data from undergraduate university students in the UAE between February and April 2022. An online self-administered questionnaire was developed for data collection, and data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 28.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results A total of 471 participants completed the survey, of whom 355 (75.4%) were female. In all, 170 (36.1%) participants were current ED consumers, and taurine and caffeine-based EDs were the most commonly consumed type (n = 107, 62%). No participants displayed good knowledge of ingredients present in EDs; however, 234 (49.7%) demonstrated good knowledge of their potential side effects. Gender was significantly associated with the frequency of ED consumption (p = 0.027), and younger students (<18 years) were 2.36 times more likely to be consumers of EDs (confidence interval = 95%). Conclusion These results highlight insufficient knowledge and poor practices regarding proper ED consumption, despite a significant portion of university students being consumers. There is a need for interventions that increase awareness about the potential negative effects of ED consumption among university students in the UAE. Our findings also suggest that younger students may be more susceptible to consuming EDs, indicating a need for targeted interventions aimed at this population. Overall, this study provides valuable insight into the prevalence, attitudes, and knowledge of ED consumption among university students in the UAE.