????這可能是那一類會讓很多人說“純屬廢話”的研究。加州大學伯克利分校（University of California at Berkeley）的研究人員得出結論：能量飲料以及所謂的“運動飲料”，其實與含糖軟飲料一樣不健康，甚至更不健康，盡管它們的宣傳語可不是這么說的。

????我們許多人都對這一點心知肚明，但飲料業長期以來通過營銷，成功地讓公眾——尤其是年輕消費者相信，這些飲料雖然含有糖分、咖啡因和其他有問題的成分，但實際上對你有好處。

????不過，情況近來似乎發生了改變。隨著越來越多的人意識到喝維他命水起不到和吃蔬菜沙拉同樣的效果，此類飲料的銷量增速開始放緩。對其他人來說，這些研究結果看起來像是“廢話”，但無論如何，能夠引用指標，將飲料廠商的營銷語與實際情況進行對比，還是很有用的。百事公司（PepsiCo）的佳得樂（Gatorade）和可口可樂（Coca-Cola）的動樂（Powerade）都號稱能夠提高運動表現，而類似紅牛（Red Bull）和怪物高能飲料（Monster）也以激發能量為噱頭，而它們實際上能做到的，只是讓你緊張和魂不守舍一段時間，最終不可避免地累倒。

????委托進行此次研究的加利福尼亞公共健康倡議中心（California Center for Public Health Advocacy）表示，這些產品帶著“健康光環”，但它們存在著不少已知的，以及可能尚未被發現的副作用。

????加州大學伯克利分校阿特金斯體重和健康中心（Atkins Center for Weight and Health）的研究人員發現，最受市場歡迎的飲料中有21種，其成分包含糖、咖啡因和鈉。此外，其中許多飲料包含銀杏萃取物、瓜拉那、牛磺酸和生姜提取物。這些成分中，只有最后一種被美國國家衛生研究院（National Institutes of Health）認定為“可能安全”。

????研究報告的第一作者帕特里夏?克勞福德在公眾電臺節目“加利福尼亞報道”（The California Report）中表示，對這些添加劑的研究上的空白“非常麻煩”。她認為，這類飲料對兒童和年輕人這些主要消費者的可能影響仍然不為人所知，這點尤其令人擔憂。

????今年5月，市場調查機構歐睿國際（Euromonitor International）的報告顯示，功能和運動飲料在2013年的銷量漲幅為4%，比起前一年的9%有所減少。歐睿預計在2013年至2018年，這類飲料的銷量只會上漲12%，較之2008年至2013年的23%漲幅有了顯著下降。市場觀察家得出結論：“在接下來幾年中，隨著人們越來越關注健康和安全問題，這類飲料的要增加銷量將會越來越難。”歐睿表示，這類飲料增加銷量困難的另一個原因是其他可供選擇的飲料，如果汁、茶和瓶裝水也開始搶占市場。

????這種趨勢也許可以解釋美國飲料協會（American Beverage Association）的發言人克里斯托弗?金德勒斯伯格的嚴厲回應。后者在加利福尼亞報道中聲稱，伯克利分校的研究實際上是“危言聳聽，企圖制造恐慌情緒”。（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????This is one of those studies that make a lot of people go “well, duh!” Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have concluded that energy drinks and “sports drinks” are as unhealthy as sugary soft drinks, and in some cases even moreso, despite claims that seem to be to the contrary.

????While many of us already knew this, the beverage industry’s marketing has succeeded for years in convincing the public — especially younger consumers — that these beverages are in fact good for you, despite being loaded with sugar, caffeine, and other problematic ingredients.

????That seems to be changing lately, though. Sales growth has slowed as awareness of the fact that, for example, drinking Vitaminwater isn’t the same as eating a salad, has grown. For the rest of us whose reactions to studies like this might be “duh,” it’s nevertheless helpful to be able to cite metrics, and to compare the marketing claims of beverage makers to reality. Sports drinks like PepsiCo’s Gatorade brands and Coca-Cola’s Powerade line are touted as enhancing athletic performance, while energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster are sold as just that — energy-boosters, when all they really do is make you nervous and distracted for a while before the inevitable crash.

????The products are sold with a “health halo,” according to the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, which commissioned the study, despite having several known and potentially several unknown ill-effects.

????The researchers at UC Berkeley’s Atkins Center for Weight and Health found that 21 of the most popular drinks in the category contain high levels of sugar, caffeine, and sodium. Plus, many of them contain gingko biloba, guarana, taurine, and ginger extract. Only the latter one is defined as “likely safe” by the National Institutes of Health.

????Patricia Crawford, the study’s lead author, told the public-radio show The California Report that the lack of research into several of those additives was “troubling.” She cited as particularly worrisome the minimal knowledge of the possible effects on the children and teenagers who make up a big chunk of the market for the beverages.

????In May, Euromonitor International reported that sales of energy and sports drinks grew in 2013 by 4%, considerably slower than the 9% growth the year before. Euromonitor predicts volume growth of just 12% from 2013 to 2018, considerably lower than the 23% growth the segment enjoyed from 2008 to 2013. “It will be more difficult to grow sales in the years ahead … as concerns about health and safety have risen,” the market-watcher concluded. Another factor is the proliferation of other alternative beverages such as juice drinks, prepared teas, and bottled water, according to Euromonitor.

????Such trends might help explain the harsh response of Christopher Gindlesperger, a spokesman with the American Beverage Association, who told The California Report that the Berkeley study amounted to “spin and attempted fear mongering.”