AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECT OF AN ENERGY DRINK ON ATHLETE PERFORMANCE AMONG BASKETBALL ATHLETES AT BREWTON-PARKER COLLEGE

Popular energy drinks available today contain different amounts of caffeine, and these energy drinks are especially marketed to college and professional athletes. The chemical composition of energy drinks may increase athletic performance, which is known as an ergogenic effect, but these energy drinks may also produce adverse behavioral effects. The proposed study investigated whether a well-known energy drink had an effect on the athletic performance of the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Brewton-Parker College. The experimental groups (15 females and 18 males) ingested 8 fluid ounces of an energy drink, which contained 80mg of caffeine and 27g of carbohydrates, and were then tested using a Ruler Drop Test, a Running-based Anaerobic Sprint Test and a Squats Test. As a control, the groups also ingested a placebo drink with the same amount of carbohydrates, but no caffeine and were tested using the same three tests. Data were analyzed using a two-tailed t-test with the critical value at p=0.05 to determine whether ingestion of an energy drink significantly affected athletic performance. For the ladies, average Anaerobic Sprint Test times after placebo ingestion was 3.89 seconds over 35 meters and 3.87 seconds after energy drink with a t-value of 0.114423\u3e0.05. For the men, average sprint times after placebo was 3.78 seconds and 3.76 after energy drink with a t-value of 0.151049\u3e0.05. The Squats Test results showed averages of 38 (placebo) and 33 (energy drink) squats per minute and 35 (placebo)and 36 (energy drink) for the ladies and men respectively with t-values of 0.061569\u3e0.05 and 0.4893688\u3e0.05. These two tests thus show no significant difference between placebo and energy drink for both genders. The Ruler Drop Test results for the men: an average of 0.063811 seconds before the ruler was caught for placebo and 0.062282 seconds for the energy drink, with t-value 0.0270467\u3c0.05, thus statistically significant. The results for the ladies were inconclusive