August 18/Washington/Indo-Asian News Service -- Popular energy drinks promise superior athletic performance and weight loss, a new study says.

"Most of the performance-enhancing effects of energy drinks can be linked to their caffeine content," says Stephanie Ballard, the study leader and assistant professor of pharmacy at the Nova Southeastern University's West Palm Beach campus in the United States.

"Caffeine has been consistently observed to enhance aerobic performance," says Ballard, who co-authored the report with colleagues, reports the journal The Physician and Sportsmedicine.

"Caffeine has (also) been reported to cause insomnia, nervousness, arrhythmias (erratic heartbeats), osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy and childbirth complications, gastrointestinal upset and death," adds Ballard, according to a Nova Southwestern release.

However, these drinks are often loaded with sugar, Ballard adds. "Despite their use for weight loss, energy drinks may be contributing to the obesity epidemic alongside less caffeinated, sugary drinks like soda."

"Although caffeine was removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list in 2004, it is still followed under the 2009 Monitoring Program to identify patterns of misuse," says Ballard.

From the August 19, 2010, Prepared Foods' Daily News
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