The Effects of Different Drinks on Heart Rate During Exercise

Jack Powell

Abstract

• The goal of this project was to see which drink would provide the best results during exercise. I had my subjects drink three different drinks and run a half mile and run the same pace. They then took their heart rate to see which provided the lowest heart rate.

Review of LiteratureResearch was done on how different drinks affect you heart rate during exercise. The drinks that were researched were water, Gatorade, and Red Bull. These drinks were chosen due to their popularity and different contents. What was found is that sugar and caffeine can increase heart rate which would force your heart to work harder to do the same amount of work that may be considered easy without the sugar. Research found that water is the best drink to consume before exercising. Gatorade contains sugar, but also contains electrolytes, which hydrate the body. The Air Force Academy did a study and according to Southard and Pugh, “hydration status affects heart rate”. Red Bull was found to be a horrible choice for exercise with high levels of caffeine and sugar.

Major termsHeart Rate- the amount of times the heart beats in a minuteResting Heart Rate- the amount of times the heart beats when the body is restingPace- the rate at which we ran (6min mile pace)

Hypothesis

The problem I am researching is the effects on heart rate during exercise after drinking the same amount of water, Gatorade, and Red Bull.

My hypothesis is if the subjects ran ½ mile at the same pace then water will produce the lesser heart rate increase from their resting heart rate followed by Gatorade, and then the energy drink. I believe the reasons for this is the higher sugar content in the Gatorade and the caffeine and sugar in the Red Bull.

Experimental Design

Materials: • stop watch• 3c. of water

• 3c. of Gatorade • 3c. of Red Bull

• Paper• Pencil

• Calculator

Experimental DesignSetup

Experimental Design

Variables:

• Control- resting heart rate

• Independent- Which drink is consumed

• Dependent- heart rate

• Constant- The constants will be the pace at which is run (6min), the time between each drink(24 hrs), and the time of day(3 pm).

Procedure

• Each person will take their resting heart rate• Then they will drink 2c. of water• Next they will run ½ mile and take their heart

rate• I will then record the new heart rate and find the

difference• 24 hrs later we will retake our resting heart rate• Then we will drink the 2 c. worth of Gatorade

Procedure • We will then run ½ mile again at the same pace• The new heart rate will be taken and there should

be a greater increase from the resting heart rate than water because of Gatorades high sugar content

• 24 hours later again we will retake our resting heart rate

• We will then drink the 2c. worth of Red Bull• We will then run ½ mile at the same pace and take

the new heart rate• This heart rate increase should be the largest

because of the high sugar amount and the high levels of caffeine

Pictures

Pictures

Pictures

Data Table

Heart Beats Per Minute

People Resting Water Gatorade Red Bull

Jack 48 99 140 175

Jay 55 103 142 183

Sam R. 47 91 138 171

Sam L. 50 89 158 177

Brett 52 105 160 189

Results and Discussions

• The results confirmed my hypothesis • The water forced the heart to do the least

work• Red Bull is an awful choice and is not

recommended before an athletic event or anytime

• Gatorade is a better drink for replacing the electrolytes after an athletic event and not necessarily before, however, it is okay

Conclusions and Future Studies

• I would like to test other drinks to see where they compare with water

• I would like to coach cross-country some day, so it would be nice to see what my teams should and should not be drinking

• I would also like to see if the snow and weather conditions altered my results

• Inside would have probably been better

Acknowledgments and Bibliography

• I would like to thank my mom for supplies• I would also like to thank Mrs. Richards for

her help• And lastly I would like to thank my subjects:

– Jay Michels– Sam Lutz– Brett Schauwecker– Sam Reichman

Bibliography

• Steinke, L. (2008, April 13). The Effect of an "energy drink" on cardiovascular and metabolic parameters . Retrieved from http://www.dominican.edu/query/ncur/display_ncur.php?id=853

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• Southard, T. L. (2004). Effect of hydration state on heart rate-based estimates of vo2max. Official Journal of The American Society of Exercise Physiologists (ASEP), 7(1), Retrieved from http://www.asep.org/files/SouthardV2.pdf

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• Bozeman. (1998, April). Heart rate during exercise. Retrieved from http://btc.montana.edu/Olympics/physiology/cf02.html

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• Brittany, D. (2004). The Effect of Gatorade Vs. Water While Exercising. http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/soar/sciproj2004/brittanyd.html