The Big 12 announced its partnership with Monster Energy in July. Several doctors responded with concerns over how this partnership would use college sports to promote energy drinks to young audiences.
BYU alumni and medical doctors, Dr. David Jacobs and Dr. Matthew Nelson, reached out to other doctors who helped form a coalition. They started a petition to raise awareness of the risks of energy drinks for young people and to ask universities and sports organizations to review the health risks.
"We saw the Big 12 Monster Energy partnership and became very concerned because as physicians we understand that energy drinks have documented health risks for children and teens," Jacobs said. "We realized that kids are going to see their sports heroes wearing Monster Energy on their uniforms."
Studies have shown 60% of kids ages 7-11 are college sports fans. Many teenagers are also fans.
"Kids are more impressionable than adults and so they can easily assume that energy drinks are part of sports," Jacobs said. "When they see sports-themed energy drink marketing, they perceive it as being aimed at them."
According to Jacobs, kids are at a higher risk for the effects of energy drinks because they are physically smaller than adults. This means if an adult and a kid both drink the same amount of an energy drink, the kid will experience a more powerful effect.
Jacobs also said children are more "caffeine naive." They do not usually have the same gradual exposure and tolerance as adults do.
When a teenage boy in his hometown died of "a caffeine-related arrhythmia after drinking an energy drink, as well as other less caffeinated beverages," Jacobs became aware of this on a more personal level.
The petition includes a page with the stories of other kids who experienced medical emergencies related to energy drink consumption.
Another concern over college sports marketing energy drinks is that kids may conflate energy drinks with sports drinks, when there are risks associated with drinking energy drinks before exercise.
"People that drink energy drinks and exercise are going to have a greater heart rate and and a greater blood pressure compared to those who just exercise alone without energy drinks," Jacobs said.
Frances Fleming-Milici, Ph.D., Director of Marketing Initiatives, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health, said energy drinks and sports drinks are not the same.
"There's warnings about consuming these drinks… and exerting yourself by groups of physicians who say that this is probably the worst time to be consuming them because deaths in healthy people have occurred when the drinks were consumed with exertion," Fleming-Milici said.
Fleming-Milici and Jacobs both said energy drinks impact the body differently than coffees and teas.
"Energy drink representatives usually compare the amount of caffeine in an energy drink to a premium cup of coffee and say that it's kind of just like having a cup of coffee," Fleming-Milici said. "(Energy drinks) contain the high levels of caffeine plus these proprietary blends of ingredients — an unknown amount that doesn't need to be listed on the can."
Fleming-Milici explained there are many ingredients in energy drinks that increase caffeine potency and "exacerbate the negative effects."
Jacobs said some studies have shown benefits to naturally occurring substances in coffee and tea, but these benefits cannot be assumed for energy drinks.
Blake Nelson, BYU student and Nelson's son, is a proponent of the petition. He explained energy drinks "don't do what they're being marketed as," and people sometimes misunderstand the health effects.
"A lot of people will drink them for improved energy. They'll drink them for improved athletic performance. They'll drink them for improved academic performance," Nelson said. "But, the data we have right now shows that they harm students and just people in general in all of those areas of life."
He said long-term energy drink consumption can lead to worse academic performance and sleep habits for college students.
Nelson also said the student support for the petition has been "heavily driven by students at BYU" and that BYU students should care because "who we affiliate with is important."
According to Jacobs and Nelson, the goal of the petition is not to restrict adult choice; the goal is to raise awareness of potential risks and encourage relevant sports organizations to review these risks.
A more thorough description of their goal can be found in the petition.
Monster Energy did not respond to the Daily Universe's request for comment in time for publication.