Attitudes of elementary students towards energy drinks consumption

Uživanje energijskih pijač, je v današnjem času vse večji problem. Tudi mladi se vse pogosteje zatekajo k rešitvam, ki niso v skladu z zdravim življenjskim slogom. Energijske pijače so poživila, ki ob zmernem uživanju povečajo koncentracijo, zmanjšajo utrujenost in povečajo budnost in energijo. Vendar pa zdravstveni strokovnjaki opozarjajo, da energijske pijače s stimulativnim učinkom na centralni živčni sistem povečujejo krvni tlak, srčni utrip in dihanje. K spodbujevalnemu učinku pripomorejo tudi velike količine sladkorja, kofeina, tavrina, aditivov in dovoljenih stimulansov, ki jih energijske pijače vsebujejo. V diplomski nalogi sem predstavila energijske pijače in pozitivne ter negativne učinke. Preučiti sem želela znanje osnovnošolcev o energijskih pijačah in kako pogosto jih uživajo. Negativne učinke uživanja stimulativnih pijač sem ponazorila z zgodbo v stripu in preverjala kakšen se šolarjem zdi tovrsten način podajanja učne snovi. Rezultati raziskave, v katero je bilo vključenih 81 osnovnošolcev, so pokazali, da učenci poznajo energijske pijače in jih znajo tudi našteti. Med anketiranimi učenci je le manjši delež energijske pijače užival redno tj. vsak dan. Uživanju energijskih pijač so v splošen bolj naklonjeni dečki, predvsem zaradi želje po učiknovitejšemu izvajanju športnih dejavnosti. Zgodba v stripu se je večini učencev zdela zanimiva in zabavna ter predvsem bolj poučna, kot običajna frontalna razlaga. Zaradi zanimivih slik so si lažje zapomnili tudi zapisana dejstva.Consumption of energy drinks is a growing problem. Despite them not being in line with a healthy lifestyle, their consumption among adolescents is increasing. Energy drinks contain stimulants, which increase individual\u27s concentration, energy and alertness. They also reduce fatigue. Health professionals warn that energy drinks increase blood pressure, heartbeat and respiration. They are designed to stimulate the central nervous system. This is due to them containing large amounts of sugar, caffeine, taurine and also additives. In my diploma thesis I presented energy drinks and their positive and negative effects. I was interested in elementary students’ knowledge and consumption habits of energy drinks. I also made a comic, which warns about negative effects of energy drinks. I was interested in their feedback of receiving information via comics. 81 elementary school students were included in my research. Results show, that students are familiar with energy drinks. Only few students reported consuming energy drinks on a daily basis. Their usage is more popular with male students, as they engage in sport activities more often. Students reported that they found reading comics more interesting, fun and instructive in comparison with the method of frontal teaching. Students also reported, that they found comics easier to remember, as they include more pictures