Saint Martin's University
A comparison of the effect of Red Bull™ and water on the heart rate, blood pressure, and
respiration of athletes and non-athletes at Saint Martin’s University
Sonya Ramos
Bio 401
5-7-2007
Table of Contents
Pages
I. Abstract
II. Introduction……………………………………………………………………1-8
III. Methods………………………………………………………………………9-12
IV. Results………………………………………………………………………..13-25
V. Discussion………………………………………………………………….....26-28
VI. Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………...29
VII. Literature Cited………………………………………………………………30
Abstract:
Red Bull™ is an energy drink consumed by many Americans, especially athletes
who want an extra energy boost consisting of these ingredients: taurine, glucuronolactone,
caffeine, niacin, B-group vitamins, sucrose, glucose, acesulfame K, and Aspartame™
sucralose A comparison of the effect of Red Bull and water on heart rate, blood pressure,
and respiration were tested on 9 athletes and 9 non-athletes at Saint Martin’s University.
Subjects were tested for two weeks those two groups of 9 were then divided into four
treatments of six people: six athletes consuming Red Bull™, 3 athletes consuming water,
6 non athletes consuming Red Bull™, and 3 non athletes consuming water. Volunteers
were required to consume their specified beverage 15 minutes before they performed the
fitness test, I took their physiological baseline measurements; heart rate, systolic blood
pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and respiration using an electronic heart rate machine
specifically designed for that use and tested respiration using a peak flow meter. From
the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical significant
difference among athlete Red Bull™ compared to non-athlete Red Bull™ and non-athlete
when measuring respiration at rest during week 2(F=5.75,df=3,p=0.013), Athlete Red
Bull™ compared to Non athlete Red Bull™ when measuring Respiration after 1 minute
during week 2(F=4.18,df=3,p=0.033) and Athlete Red Bull™ compared to Non athlete
Red Bull™ and Non Athlete water when measuring respiration after 5 minutes during
week 2(F=10.23,df=3,p=0.002).
Athletes are interested in increasing their sports performance by trying new things
such as specialty drinks to enhance their performance. However, these may negatively
affect the body. These specialty drinks contain ingredients such as taurine,
glucuronolactone, caffeine, niacin, B-group vitamins, sucrose, glucose, acesulfame K,
and Aspartame™ sucralose. I think my fellow teammates and other collegiate athletes
could benefit from information on this topic.
In 1984, Dietrich Mateschitz founded the Red Bull GmbH Company (Red
Bull.com). He developed an interesting marketing concept and started selling Red Bull™
Energy Drink on the Austrian market in 1987. Red Bull™ rapidly gained in popularity.
“Giving people wings,” is Red Bull’s™ market saying, giving that extra energy to kick
the body into gear. Red Bull™ more than a soft drink. According to the label, it was
designed for moments of increased physical and mental stress, and to improve endurance,
alertness, concentration and reaction speed. According to Red Bull.com, it also vitalizes
meaning it is important to the body and mind. The effectiveness of Red Bull™ has been
supported by scientific studies and is appreciated by many of the world’s top athletes
(Red Bull.com).
A group of scientists studied the effects of Red Bull™ Energy Drink on human
performance and mood by conducting 3 studies (Alford et al., 2001). The first study
studied 5 males and 5 females between the ages of 18-30. The second study, there were 7
males and 7 females between the ages of 18-35, and in the third study, there were 7 males
and 5 females between the ages of 20 and 21. All volunteers were unpaid, healthy, drank
minimal amounts of caffeine, and were screened for physical exercise capacity (Alford et
al., 2001).
The experimenters monitored heart rate, blood pressure, subjective mood, and
choice reaction time involving a questionnaire for the first test. The second test
monitored heart rate, blood pressure, subjective alertness, and choice reaction time. The
second test also included an aerobic endurance test. The third study tested memory and
concentration, with an anaerobic endurance test at the end. The authors used carbonated
mineral water for their control and Red Bull™ Energy Drink for the first study. The
second study added a no drink control. In the third study, water was used as one control.
A second control was a ‘dummy’ energy drink that they put in competition with Red
Bull™. The ‘dummy’ drink consisted of low calorie quinine flavored carbonated water
with lime, apple and blackcurrent concentrates with no sugar added. Red Bull™ contains
carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, citric acid, taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine,
inositol, vitamins, flavors and color (Alford et al., 2001).
The results of the first study showed a decrease in heart rate and systolic blood
pressure after mineral water consumption compared to Red Bull™ (Alford et al., 2001).
The diastolic blood pressure remained constant across the treatments. The choice
reaction time, measured by unexpectedly throwing a ball at the subjects, was improved
by Red Bull™ compared to carbonated water. The subjective mood, measured by a
survey of how they felt at the time, had a greater change from pre-treatment for Red
Bull™ compared to carbonated water.
The second study compared Red Bull™ to carbonated water and to no drink. The
results showed stable levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure for all treatments, but
there was a difference in the overall heart rate, which was higher for Red Bull™. The
choice reaction time showed an improvement for Red Bull™ when compared to
carbonated water (Alford et al., 2001). A paired comparisons test showed an
improvement in memory and concentration among Red Bull™ consumers compared to
‘dummy’ energy drink consumers (Alford et al., 2001).
None of the three studies showed an effect on the systolic or diastolic blood
pressure at rest. Changes in heart rate were less consistent. Red Bull™ showed an
enhanced performance and reaction time in the first and second study. There was an
improvement in performance for concentration and memory in the third study due to Red
Bull™. In addition, there was an improvement in aerobic endurance, with a maximum
heart rate at 65-75% with Red Bull™ compared to the carbonated water and the no drink
(Alford et al., 2001).
The effect of a taurine-containing drink on performance in 10 endurance-athletes
was studied by Geiss et al. (1994). The authors chose 10 endurance trained male athletes
between the ages of 24 and 25. The athletes trained for 10-15 hours per week, and all
volunteers were informed about the study and its possible risks (Geiss et al., 1994).
During the three-week study, the volunteers trained at a constant rate. They had a
regular meal plan and exercise routine, so that there would be no variation in either food
consumption or exercise amount. They fasted for at least two hours before each exercise
trial. All volunteers completed three trials, each of which was sixty minutes of cycling, at
about 70% of their maximum speed, as measured by a cycle ergometer. Then, every
three minutes, the workload was increased 50 watts until the volunteer could no longer
pedal. Twenty-four hours later, the volunteers repeated cycling test, but they started at 50
watts, and the workload was increased every three minutes. The drinks were consumed
after three minutes of sub maximal cycling (Geiss et al., 1994). They found that after
starting exercise, heart rate increased quickly and plateaued during cycling at 70%
reaching their maximum speed. Throughout the exercise, the workload increased and
heart rate increased slowly until it reached its peak at maximum exercise (Emax) (Geiss
et al., 1994).
There was a decrease in blood glucose after 30 minutes of cycling at 70%
maximum speed (Geiss et al., 1994). With the increase of workload during their exercise,
blood lactate increased slowly and reached its maximum, but after exercise, lactate
decreased in energy 10 minutes after exercise. Plasma insulin 15 minutes after
consumption in trial 3 was lower than in trial 1. There was no difference observed
between exercises. When the test drink was consumed, plasma free fatty acids (FFA)
increased from resting and declined when exercising with high intensity, but there was no
difference among the three trials for FFA concentrations. During exercise, human growth
hormone (hGH) plasma levels increased slowly. However, due to high standard
deviation (SD) there was no difference among the trials (Geiss et al., 1994). Overall,
there were no differences in the measurements; however there was a slight increase in
epinephrine plasma levels from the start of exercise in all trials. Norepinephrine levels
during exercise increased slowly and then decreased rapidly (Geiss et al., 1994).
In endurance time, the individual intensity level was longer in trial 1 than in trials
2 and 3. There was an increase in performance during exercise after consuming Red
Bull™. Heart rate reached a lower level with Red Bull™ than with the two other drinks
from trial two and trial three, neither of which contained taurine (Geiss et al., 1994).
Khanna and Manna (2004) studied the supplementary effect of a carbohydrateelectrolyte drink on the sports performance, lactate removal, and cardiovascular response
of athletes. A total of 16 male endurance athletes who were between the ages of 20 and
25 were selected after a medical examination to determine if they were healthy enough to
be part of the study. They were told to not participate in strenuous activities for two days
before the exercise test and not to exercise on the day of the test. The authors wanted
them to keep their normal diet and stay away from alcohol and caffeinated drinks in the
week before and during the experiment (Khanna and Manna, 2004).
There were two phases that the experimenters used. In the first phase, no
supplement was given. In the second phase, 100 ml of a 5% carbohydrate-electrolyte
drink (C.E.D.) was supplied during exercise at 15 minute intervals until subjects were
tired, and then another 100 ml of 12.5% C.E.D was given after 5 minutes of recovery and
every 5 minutes up to 20 minutes (Khanna and Manna, 2004).
Volunteers were asked to run on a treadmill at a speed of 6 km/h for two minutes,
and then the workload was increased by 2 km/h every two minutes until the subjects were
tired. Heart rate was monitored during exercise and recovery. Blood samples were
collected every ten minutes during exercise and recovery. Researchers used a Boehringer
Manneheim kit to take tests of blood glucose levels from the fingers of the subjects, and
lactate was quantified with a lactate analyzer using an Analox Lactate kit (Khanna and
Manna, 2004).
Cardiovascular response as measured by oxygen levels and respiration when
recovering, improved after supplementation with 12.5g % C.E.D. To test the effect of
C.E.D. on blood glucose, data were collected at rest and then at 10 minute intervals.
There were no differences in blood glucose levels during the exercise at 70% maximum
with the 5g % C.E.D. However, there was a high blood glucose level during recovery
after 20 minutes with a 12.5g % C.E.D. To test the effect of C.E.D on blood lactate
levels, blood was collected at rest and at 10 minute intervals (Khanna and Manna, 2004).
They found that carbohydrate replacement during exercise may enhance performance of
sports and activities.
Although I did not collect blood samples, I encouraged my subjects to avoid
alcohol and caffeine prior to testing.
In the Smit and Rogers (2002) study, there were 23 volunteers, 10 males and 13
females between the ages of 19-56. Their body average mass index (BMI) was 24.7
kg/m2, and age and BMI did not differ between the sexes. Volunteers were recruited by
telephone (Smit and Rogers, 2002), and volunteers were tested once a week for five
weeks. Before the volunteers could start, they had to under-take a tiring mental task,
which was to induce a state of mild fatigue so that the restorative effects of the drinks
could be evaluated and to collect pre-test data. The experimenters tested two drinks
containing caffeine and glucose against equal volumes of water. Researchers used water
after the drink to show that the effects were not affected by the differences in the volume
levels or by the refreshingness of drinking water (Smit and Rogers, 2002).
Several experimental drinks were used: Energy drink A (more bitter, less sweet
and less carbonated at 150 ml), bottled spring water at 150 ml, Energy drink B (75 mg of
guarana extract at 250 ml, water in a 250 ml bottle), and the final treatment, a no drink
control, which consisted of a small break (Smit and Rogers, 2002).
Drinks were equal in calories and caffeine content (Smit and Rogers, 2002).
Drink A contained a different array of vitamins than drink B, and it contained ferrous
gluconate. Both drinks were given in a clear glass and each volunteer received one
treatment per week in a random order, so that each subject did not receive the same drink
again. Tests took place in booths where volunteers could not see the experiment or each
other. Experimenters thought this atmosphere would allow volunteers to reflect on their
feelings and moods (Smit and Rogers, 2002).
Subjects were required to refrain from consuming any caffeine-containing food or
drinks after 9 pm the previous evening until testing the following day (Smit and Rogers,
2002). A saliva sample was taken at the beginning of each session. Volunteers were told
that the sample would be analyzed for caffeine present in the body. To avoid information
from being passed out the volunteers who had not yet done the tests, debriefing was done
by mail at the very end of the study (Smit and Rogers, 2002).
Changes between the last pre-trial minute to the first post-trial minute did not
differ among trials, indicating an absence of an immediate post test effect of the drinks on
reaction time. Drink A showed a small difference, but an improvement in performance
compared to no drink, but neither energy drinks was more effective than water. The
memory performance data showed no effect of treatment (Smit and Rogers, 2002).
This study provided information that the other four articles did not address, such
as data tables that showed results from an analysis of variance test (ANOVA). I used the
article to set up my physical fitness test by testing each subject’s baseline heart rate and
blood pressure. Most of all, it gave me the information I need to understand what happens
when different drinks are consumed during exercise that could have an effect on
performance.
The health effects of stimulant drinks were evaluated in another study (Finnegan,
2001). The death of a 19-year-old alerted the public to the health risks of these drinks.
The UK Minister of State at the Department of Health, safefood (the Food Safety
Promotion Board), charged a committee to independently conduct scientific research on
the stimulant drinks known as energy drinks. In the study, the health effects of stimulant
drinks, it says that stimulant drinks have caused two deaths (Finnegan, 2001). Stimulant
drinks target and affect certain functions of the body, and because of this, they belong to
a group of functional foods. Stimulant drinks contain caffeine, gaurana, taurine,
glucuronolactone, and some of the B vitamins (Finnegan, 2001). Caffeine in the UK is
consumed at a rate of about 278 mg per day for a typical 70 kg male. In Sweden and
Finland, consumption is greater than > 400 mg/day. France and Denmark have a limit of
150 mg/L for soft drinks, and stimulant drinks are not sold in these countries (Finnegan,
2001).
The study gave me an understanding of what effect stimulant drinks have on the
body and what ingredients are in them. Caffeine was one of the ingredients that were
discussed the most.
The paper provided me with some examples of why heart rate,
blood pressure, respiration, and in general how the body reacts to Red Bull™ compared
non-Red Bull™ , what ingredients are present in energy drinks that stimulate the body to
react the way it does when consumed.
My hypothesis is that there will be an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and
respiration at 1 minute and 5 minutes having consumed Red Bull™ as compared to
having consumed water.
Recruitment of Subjects:
Two weeks prior to my study, a campus wide email at Saint Martin’s University
was sent out to recruit athlete and non-athlete volunteers participate in my study. This
study had been approved by the Institutional Review Board Committee. Each participant
read and signed a consent form that described the fitness tests and the physiological tests,
as shown in Fig 1.
Figure 1. Gives an overview of the process of the study.
My subjects included athletes who participated in women’s basketball, men’s
basketball, women’s softball, men’s baseball, women’s golf, men’s golf, tack and field,
and woman’s volleyball all that are offered here at Saint Martin's University and nonathletes, those who did not participate in college sports here at Saint Martin's University.
Group Division:
I divided the 18 participants into two groups of nine athletes and nine non
athletes. Those two groups of nine were then divided into four treatments of six people:
six athletes consuming Red Bull™, three athletes consuming water, six non athletes
consuming Red Bull™, and three non athletes consuming water then the following week
each group will switch to the other beverage. Volunteers were required to consume their
specified beverage 15 minutes before they performed the fitness test. I took their
physiological baseline measurements soon after they had finished drinking their
beverage; heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, using an electronic
machine to collect data and respiration using a spirometer small handheld device
measuring by (L/min). I was the sole operator of the equipment, and I ran practice tests
on myself to ensure the equipment was appropriate for the experiment.
Physical Fitness Test Process:
The fitness test consisted of a 2 minute warm-up jog around the gym and 1 minute
of crunches as diagramed in figure 2,
Figure 2. This is the correct way to do the crunches assigned for my physical fitness test.
http://www.weight-lifting-workout-routines.com/crunches.jpg
Figure 3. Illistrates the correct way to do push ups, whether it was on the knees or toes. 30 seconds
of push-ups http://www.physicallytrained.com/fm21-20/physical-fitness-training/images/DRILLpush-up.PNG
Figure 4 illustrates the correct way the shuttle run, start between two cones run to the middle of
the next two cones, turn and run back to the beginning cones did this for 1 minute this was 15 ft from
beginning to end.
Alford et al. (2001), used a three minute warm-up at the start of their test. In
order to keep my test a total of 15 minutes, I used only a 2 minute warm-up jog.
Table 1 describes what each group ingested and when. Group A and C ingested
Red Bull™ the first week and water the second week. Group B and D ingested water the
first week and Red Bull™ the second week. Each subject had 15 minutes to consume
their drink, after which I took their baseline measurements. Each subject then performed
the physical fitness test. After they had completed their physical fitness test I checked
their physiological responses immediately after they finished the last test, and 5 minutes
after the second physiological measurements at 1 minute.
Table 1. Describes each group and what beverage each group of participants will be consuming for that
week. Following week the group of participants will switch to the opposite beverage that they had whether
that was Red Bull™ or water.
Athletes
Non-athletes
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Week 1
Red Bull™ 6
Water 3
Red Bull™ 6
Water 3
Week 2
Water 6
Red Bull™ 3
Water 6
Red Bull™ 3
Results:
For my study I had results that obtained from the evaluation of heart rate, systolic
blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and respiration dealing with four groups: group a,
athlete consuming Red Bull™, group b, athlete consuming water, and group c, nonathlete consuming Red Bull™, and group d, non-athlete consuming water. The control
group for each test was group b and group d.
Due to error of data collection with each subject’s number of push-ups, crunches
and shuttle run during the physical fitness test I will not be using the data for that portion
of my study. I will focus on the physiological measurements for week 1 and 2.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical
significant difference among the non-athlete drinking Red Bull™ compared to the nonathlete drinking water when measuring heart rate at 5 minutes during week 1
(F=8.72,df=3,p=0.002) (Figure 1).
Week 1
180
160
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
Heart Rate (beats per minute)
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 1. On the Y axis shows heart rate (beats per minute) and on the X axis shows time in minutes. For
clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but
before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes
after physical fitness test at week 1. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of
3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical
significant difference among the non-athlete drinking Red Bull™ compared to the nonathlete drinking water when measuring heart rate at 5 minutes during week 2
(F=6.54,df=3,p=.008) (Figure 2).
Week 2
160
140
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
Heart Rate (beats per minute)
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 2. On the Y axis shows heart rate (beats per minute) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for
week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of
beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at
5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of
3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical
significant difference among non-athlete Red Bull™ compared to non athlete water when
measuring Diastolic Blood Pressure at rest 1 minute during week 1(F=5.36,df=3,p=0.011)
(Figure 5).
Week 1
120
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
Diastolic Blood Pressure (mm Hg)
110
100
90
80
70
60
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 5. On the Y axis shows diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in
minutes for week 1. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the
consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical
fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each
group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical
significant difference among non-athlete Red Bull™ compared to non athlete water when
measuring systolic blood pressure 1 minute during week 2 (F=9.30,df=3,p=0.002)
(Figure 4).
Week 2
200
190
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
Systolic Blood Pressure (mm Hg)
180
170
160
150
140
130
120
110
100
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 4. On the Y axis shows systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes
for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption
of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and
at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting
of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was a statistical
significant difference among athlete Red Bull™ compared to non-athlete Red Bull™ and
non-athlete when measuring respiration at rest during week 2(F=5.75,df=3,p=0.013),
Athlete Red Bull™ compared to Non athlete Red Bull™ when measuring Respiration
after 1 minute during week 2(F=4.18,df=3,p=0.033) and Athlete Red Bull™ compared to
Non athlete Red Bull™ and Non Athlete water when measuring respiration after 5
minutes during week 2(F=10.23,df=3,p=0.002) (Figure 8).
Week 2
620
570
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
520
Respiration (L/min)
470
420
370
320
270
220
170
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 8. On the Y axis shows Respiration (L/min) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 2.
For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage
but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes
after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6
subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical
significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™,
and non-athlete water when measuring Heart Rate after 1 minute during week 1
(F=2.99,df=3,p=0.067) (Figure 1).
Week 1
180
160
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
Heart Rate (beats per minute)
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 1. On the Y axis shows heart rate (beats per minute) and on the X axis shows time in minutes. For
clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage but
before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes
after physical fitness test at week 1. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of
3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical
significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™,
and non-athlete water with heart rate after 1 minute during week
2(F=2.05,df=3,p=0.165),athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and
non-athlete water with heart rate at rest during week 2(F=2.39,df=3,p=0.124) (Figure 2).
Week 2
160
140
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
Heart Rate (beats per minute)
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 2. On the Y axis shows heart rate (beats per minute) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for
week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of
beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at
5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of
3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical
significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™,
and non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure after 5 minutes during week 2
(F=3.24,df=3,p=0.064), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and
non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure at rest during week 2
(F=.77,df=3,p=0.0.535), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and
non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure after 1 minute during week 2
(F=1.15,df=3,p=0.373) (Figure 6).
Week 2
130
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
120
non-athlete Red Bull
Diastolic Blood Pressure (mm Hg)
non-athlete water
110
100
90
80
70
60
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 6. On the Y axis shows diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in
minutes for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the
consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical
fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each
group consisting of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical
significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™,
and non-athlete water with systolic blood pressure at rest during week 2
(F=1.05,df=3,p=0.409) (Figure 4).
Figure 4. On the Y axis shows systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes
for week 2. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption
of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and
at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting
of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical
significant difference athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and nonathlete water with systolic blood pressure at rest during week 1 (F=0.90,df=3,p=0.463),
athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with
systolic blood pressure after 5 minutes during week 1 (F=2.73,df=3,p=0.083), athlete Red
Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with systolic blood
pressure after 1 minute during week 1 (F=2.83,df=3,p=0.077) (Figure 3).
Week 1
220
Systolic Blood Pressure (mm Hg)
200
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
180
160
140
120
100
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 3. On the Y axis shows systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in minutes
for week 1. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption
of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and
at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting
of 3-6 subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical
significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™,
and non athlete water with respiration after 5 minutes during week 1
(F=1.08,df=3,p=0.391), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and
non-athlete water with respiration after 1 minute during week 1 (F=2.58,df=3,p=0.095),
athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with
respiration at rest during week 1 (F=1.06,df=3,p=0.396) (Figure 7).
Week 1
600
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
550
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
Respiration (L/min)
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 7. On the Y axis shows Respiration (L/min) and on the X axis shows time in minutes for week 1.
For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the consumption of beverage
but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical fitness test, and at 5 minutes
after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each group consisting of 3-6
subjects with the error bars represent one standard deviation of each group.
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no statistical
significant difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™,
and non athlete water with diastolic blood pressure after 5 minutes during week 1
(F=1.46,df=3,p=0.267), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and
non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure after 1 minute during week 1
(F=2.76,df=3,p=0.081), athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and
non-athlete water with diastolic blood pressure at rest during week 1
(F=5.36,df=3,p=0.011) (Figure 5).
Week 1
120
Diastolic Blood Pressure (mm Hg)
110
athlete Red Bull
athlete water
non-athlete Red Bull
non-athlete water
100
90
80
70
60
0
1
5
Time (minutes)
Figure 5. On the Y axis shows diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) and on the X axis shows time in
minutes for week 1. For clarity each group is set up with its own line and symbol. 0 is at rest after the
consumption of beverage but before physical fitness test. 1 minute is after the consumption and physical
fitness test, and at 5 minutes after physical fitness test. At points 0, 1, 5 minutes show the means of each
group consisting of 3-6 subjects.
Discussion:
The results obtained in this study suggest differences among the tested athletes Red
Bull™, athletes’ water, non-athletes Red Bull™, and non-athletes water each group
testing heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and respiration with
two weeks (Figures 1-8).
From the results of the analysis of variance ANOVA Test there was no difference
among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water
when measuring Heart Rate after 1 minute during week 1. The reason for this could be
attributed to human error with the assembly and functioning of the automatic heart rate
machine.
There was no difference among athlete Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red
Bull™, and non-athlete water with heart rate after 1 minute during week 2 and the athlete
Red Bull™, athlete water, non-athlete Red Bull™, and non-athlete water with heart rate
at rest during week 2. The reason for this could be attributed to human error with the
assembly, functioning of the automatic heart rate machine and my participants failing to
come back the second week of the study.
There was a difference among the non-athlete drinking Red Bull™ compared to the
non-athlete drinking water when measuring heart rate at 5 minutes during week 1(Figure
1). The reason for this could be attributed to the consumption of Red Bull™ after the
physical fitness test.
Athlete Red Bull™ compared to Non athlete Red Bull™ when measuring
Respiration after 1 minute during week 2 and athlete Red Bull™ compared to non-athlete
Red Bull™ and non-athlete water when measuring respiration after 5 minutes during
week 2 showed differences (Figure 8). Reason for this could be attributed to the six
subjects who did not return for the second week, which through my data off scale of not
having an equal amount of participants when running an ANOVA test.
The results of this study accepted my hypothesis that there will be an increase in
heart rate, blood pressure and respiration at 1 minute and 5 minutes having consumed
Red Bull™ as compared to having consumed water. The results applied to both week one
and week two, but the reason for the result is attributed by the participants not coming
back for the second week of study therefore swaying my data for the end results and not
knowing if my results were accepted or rejected.
Recommendations for further research involve confirmed subject that will participate
in the study doing follow up calls, emails and reminding them when to return. Counting
how many push-ups, crunches, and shuttle run they have completed with the physical
fitness test be more like an authority figure making sure they are doing the exercise
correctly. I would also like to have a blind test where the participants do not know what
drink they are consuming; by make the beverages the same in color and taste, the reason
for this is so that participants would not be mislead knowing that Red Bull™ will give
your more energy and enhance your physical performance rather than water. I would
make sure the heart rate equipment positioned correctly on the arm so that there is no
chance of error when collecting data. Also make sure that the place where the study will
be is available for usage, I ran into availability issues with communication with the
pavilion not knowing there were events scheduled therefore canceling my study for that
day.
The consumption of Red Bull™ compared to water played an important role in the
factors contributing to physical performance with athletes and non-athletes.
Acknowledgements
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards Saint
Martin’s University professors Mary Jo Hartman and Margaret Olney for their guidance
during my research. They provided direction and problem solving in regards to my
research performed at the University. In addition, I would like to express gratitude to
Cheryl Guglielmo for her assistance with collecting all the required materials for my
research. I would like to thank Simon Moorby, team manager for Red Bull™ from
Seattle Washington with supplying Red Bull for my research. I would like to thank Apria
Health Care for supplying my peak flow meters for my research. Finally, I would like to
thank fellow SMU colleagues for taking time out of their busy schedules to participate in
my study.
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