Purpose Energy drink (ED) consumption has become a common trend nowadays and sometimes considered as a showcase of modern lifestyle, especially among youth. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to study ED consumption pattern among university students and identify the determinants for their preference for such drinks. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 students from various departments of Jashore University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh.

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... s About 52.3 percent of the students were between 21 and 23 years, and half of them were male. More than half (53 percent) of the students had consumed ED at least once in their lifetime. Only 22.1 percent of all consumers had knowledge of the ingredients of ED, and 4.3 percent did not know their negative impact. Bivariate analysis was performed to identify the variables significantly associated with ED consumption among students. Including the significant variables into a multivariate model, the risks of ED consumption were found male gender (odds ratio (OR)=4.04; 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.36–6.92), father educated up to SSC (OR=18.47; 95% CI=2.30–148.90) or college and above (OR=17.01; 95% CI=2.31–135.60), being a smoker (OR=3.87; 95% CI=1.61–9.35) and doing irregular physical activity (OR=2.43; 95% CI=1.23–4.78). Originality/value From the results, it is clear that ED use among university students is high, but their perception regarding components and potential health hazards of such drinks is opaque. Therefore, it is imperative that both community and individual levels interventions should be focused on empowering individuals to make firm and positive decisions concerning their dietary habits and health.