For that quick fix, soda is choice for students

Jason Kelly
March 26, 1997

A recent survey showed that Iowa State students prefer soda over other forms of caffeine when fighting the urge to doze.

In a telephone survey of 325 students, 42 percent of those interviewed said they are “most likely” to use caffeine while studying or doing schoolwork. Thirty-four percent said they use it most often while socializing, and 19 percent said they are “most likely” to use caffeine to help them begin the day.

“If you have to take an early class, I find pop just gives me a little kick to stay awake,” said one Iowa State business student.

An Iowa State journalism class randomly selected 325 students from the ISU Directory and interviewed them by phone between Feb. 28 and March 5. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.

By far, the most popular way for students to get caffeine is soda, the caffeine product of choice among 73 percent of those interviewed. Sixteen percent of the students said coffee is the source of caffeine they use most often and 6 percent said tea is their beverage of choice.

“I don’t see how anyone can get through without it or some kind of stimulant unless they’re Superman,” said one junior in philosophy.

In addition, 43 percent of the students surveyed said they consider themselves to be moderate consumers of caffeine, and nearly as many, 40 percent, said they considered themselves light consumers. Only 10 percent said they are heavy consumers. Seven percent of those surveyed said they don’t use caffeine products.

Students varied widely on how much caffeine they use. Thirty-four percent said they use caffeine products two or three times during the day. The heaviest users, 13 percent of those interviewed, said they use caffeine products four or more times a day. Thirty percent said they use it less than once a day or not at all, and 23 percent said they use caffeine once a day.

Many students surveyed said they are concerned that too much caffeine may be a health risk. Forty-seven percent of the students interviewed said they believe heavy caffeine use, four or more times a day, could cause health problems.

Some students have first-hand experience of the risks of caffeine abuse. The survey showed 32 percent of the students interviewed have experienced the “jitters,” insomnia or other negative side effects of caffeine use.

“I am living proof that caffeine withdrawal gives headaches. I thought I had an ulcer with all the pop I was drinking. It is worse than people think,” said a senior in occupational therapy.

Mary Engstrom, director of health education for the Student Health Center, said she doesn’t think the statistics indicate a problem.

“I don’t think there’s any problem with drinking a cup of coffee or a can of pop two, maybe even three times a day. But once you go over four, then we are looking, perhaps, at somebody who needs that substance to keep them moving along,” Engstrom said.

Engstrom noted that the number of students who said they use caffeine four or more times a day, 13 percent, and the number who said they consider themselves dependent on caffeine, 14 percent, were close.

“I think the students’ perception there was fairly accurate,” she said. “I would not classify someone who uses caffeine two or three times a day as dependent, necessarily.”

Fewer than one-fourth of the students interviewed said they frequently choose caffeine-free beverages more than drinks containing caffeine. Thirty-nine percent said they drink caffeine-free drinks only occasionally, and 38 percent said they rarely or never drink caffeine-free drinks.

“I would rather see students drink coffee or soda than doing actual drugs like cocaine,” said a junior in liberal arts and sciences.

— Michael Gillespie contributed to this report.