The New York Times reports on a study about energy drinks, such as Red Bull and Spike Shooter, which appear to have a connection to risk-taking behavior. While the article speaks primiarly about high school students, there is a mention of college students as well:

Dr. O’Brien surveyed energy drink and alcohol use among college students at 10 universities in North Carolina. The study, published this month in Academic Emergency Medicine, showed that students who mixed energy drinks with alcohol got drunk twice as often as those who consumed alcohol by itself and were far more likely to be injured or require medical treatment while drinking. Energy drink mixers were more likely to be victims or perpetrators of aggressive sexual behavior. The effect remained even after researchers controlled for the amount of alcohol consumed. read full article…

Discussion Questions: Have you seen this energy drink-risk taking connection in evidence with your friends? If so, what other forms of risk taking are common? If not, why do you think that its not as common?

Tags: nutrition, physical health, risk, sexual violence