Boys Get a Greater Caffeine Rush than Girls

New research from the University at Buffalo indicates that adolescent boys get a greater rush and more energy from consuming caffeine than girls do. In the study, which is published in Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, boys also reported that they felt that caffeine had a positive effect on their athletic performance.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study is the first to demonstrate gender differences in physiological response to acute caffeine in adolescents.

"Our findings from this study and from our previous study suggest that boys and girls respond differently to caffeine," said lead researcher Jennifer L. Temple, PhD. "We are hoping that our findings from our studies on caffeine will help us to determine why males and females differ in susceptibility to drug abuse and respond differently to treatment."

The study involved 26 boys and 26 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who had previous experience with caffeine but no adverse reactions, and who were not using hormone-based contraceptives, not smoking, and not on any medication that could have adverse interactions with caffeine. On the first visit, participants completed a 24-hour dietary and physical activity recall, including how many caffeinated drinks they consumed, while parents completed a demographic questionnaire. Teens provided a three-millimeter saliva sample analyzed to make sure they had abstained from caffeine and weren't taking steroid hormones.

After researchers took baseline heart rate and blood pressure, participants drank a beverage containing 50 mg, 100 mg, or 200 mg of caffeine, or one with no caffeine that served as a placebo. The order was randomized across the four visits for each participant.

Blood pressure and heart rate measurements were taken every 10 minutes during the first hour. The teens completed the behavioral checklist again and munched on snack food. After the fourth session, participants had their height and weight measured.

In addition to the general findings, the study revealed several differences in response to caffeine between girls and boys. Diastolic blood pressure increased and heart rate decreased as percentage of caffeine increased in males, but not in females. In addition, boys who were regular "high consumers" of caffeine showed greater increases in blood pressure than low-consuming boys.

"Caffeine is known to increase blood pressure, but the fact that it caused an exaggerated response in high-consuming males was a surprise, since at the time of measurement the amount of caffeine consumed by boys and girls was the same," said Temple. "We would have predicted that high consumers would have developed some tolerance to the effects of caffeine and would have reduced responses."

When researchers examined eating behavior as a function of chronic and acute caffeine use, they found that high consumers of caffeine consumed more calories, protein and fat in their typical diet, and ate more high-sugar snack foods in the laboratory, compared with low-caffeine consumers.

Source: University at Buffalo