Effects of Caffeine in Sports-Related Performance

The drug, caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), is consumed worldwide. It is found in tea, coffee, and soft drinks. Caffeine is also a common ingredient in headache medications and appetite suppressants. The drug's primary physiologic effects involve the central nervous system: Caffeine is a stimulant. In addition, over the past several decades, the compound's influence on sports-related performance has also been investigated. Various studies indicate that caffeine may improve endurance performance during long-term, low-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise. It is thought that this effect may result from an increase in metabolic efficiency. Some investigators believe that caffeine enhances the utilization of blood borne free fatty acids. Unfortunately though, such factors as a lack of standardization between studies and individual differences in response to caffeine have resulted in contradictory research findings. Thus, the exact effects of caffeine on athletic performance remain largely unknown.

An athlete's success in any particular sport typically depends on many factors. For one, their genetic complement is very important. Second, morphological, physiological, and psychological training are also essential. Finally, both diet and ergogenic aids can additionally influence sports-related performance (13:S344-S347).

The term, "ergogenic," is of Greek origin. In relation to athletic performance, it may be defi

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on of cAMP in cerebral slices. This observation was opposite that which would have been expected from a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. Sattin & Rall (1970) eventually concluded that theophylline interfered with the stimulation of cAMP by endogenous adenosine. The compound achieved this interference by blocking the nervous system's adenosine receptors (8:139-155). Of the three mechanisms of caffeine action, perhaps the most important is the drug's antagonistic action on the adenosine receptors. The mobilization of intracellular calcium and the inhibition of phosphodiesterases occurs only at high caffeine concentrations. Adenosine receptor inhibition, however, occurs at physiologic caffeine concentrations (8:139-155). For the most part, the effects of caffeine vary greatly from one individual to another. For instance, Bachrach (1966) found that the peak plasma concentration of caffeine measured in nine subjects given 250 milligrams of the drug ranged from 4.2 to 26 milligrams per liter. In addition, people generally become more sensitive to caffeine as they get older. These effects may be related to differences in such things as intestinal absorption, gastric evacuation, and variations in caffeine's metabolic half-life (8:13

Category: Medical - E