Sports drink statistics show how use differs across U.S. high-school groups and how selected carbohydrate-electrolyte formulations performed in controlled athlete trials. The measures below distinguish daily or seven-day frequency from volume, and survey prevalence from experimental outcomes.
Key Sports Drink Statistics
The most useful figures span adolescent consumption, nonuse, recent subgroup trends, and measured trial outcomes:
- In 2021, 21% of American Indian or Alaska Native U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day.
- In 2021, 3.9% of Asian U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day.
- In 2021, 18.7% of Black U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day.
- In 2021, 10.2% of White U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day.
- In 2021, 11.5% of Hispanic U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day.
- In 2019, 10.6% of U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day.
- In 2019, 14% of male U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day.
- In 2019, 7.1% of female U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day.
- In 2023, 48% of U.S. high-school students did not drink sports drinks during the preceding seven days.
- In 2023, 58% of male U.S. high-school students did not drink sports drinks during the preceding seven days.
- In 2023, 39% of female U.S. high-school students did not drink sports drinks during the preceding seven days.
- In 2023, 65% of Asian U.S. high-school students did not drink sports drinks during the preceding seven days.
- Among female U.S. high-school students, no-use prevalence was 55% in 2021 and 58% in 2023.
- Among male U.S. high-school students, no-use prevalence was 41% in 2021 and 39% in 2023.
- In a 2023 controlled trial of 26 athletes, fluid retention after 3.5 hours was 73.9% with a sports drink containing 18 mmol/L sodium and 6% carbohydrate.
- In a 2023 controlled trial of 26 athletes, fluid retention after 3.5 hours was 58.1% with water.
- In a 1997 trial of 19 endurance-trained cyclists, the carbohydrate-electrolyte condition completed a fixed workload in 58.74 minutes.
- In a 2017 trial of 15 male soccer players, mean sprinting speed was 2.7% higher with a carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage than with water.
Contents
- Sports drink prevalence by race and ethnicity in 2021
- Sports drink prevalence estimates in the 2019 baseline survey
- Sports drink nonuse among U.S. high-school students in 2023
- Sports drink nonuse trends from 2021 to 2023
- Hydration outcomes in sports drink trials
- Performance outcomes in carbohydrate-electrolyte trials
Sports Drink Prevalence by Race and Ethnicity in 2021
The 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey measured whether U.S. students in grades 9–12 drank a sports drink at least once per day. These are self-reported frequency estimates, not serving volumes, and low-calorie sports drinks were excluded.
| Student group, United States | Daily prevalence, 2021 |
|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 21% |
| Black | 18.7% |
| Hispanic | 11.5% |
| White | 10.2% |
| Multiracial | 9.6% |
| Asian | 3.9% |
The table describes frequency rather than quantity. A student counted as drinking a sports drink daily may have consumed a different amount from another student with the same reported frequency.
Sports Drink Prevalence Estimates in the 2019 Baseline Survey
The 2019 baseline survey provides an earlier U.S. grades 9–12 reference point. It reported 10.6% daily prevalence overall, with a higher estimate for male students than female students.
| Student group, United States | Daily prevalence, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Male | 14% |
| Overall | 10.6% |
| Hispanic | 11.9% |
| Multiracial | 13.5% |
| White | 9.3% |
| Female | 7.1% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 9.4% |
| Black | 15.6% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 27.2% |
| Asian | 2.1% |
The 2019 estimates are survey results and should not be treated as sales totals or independent measures of beverage volume. The 2021 report also provides methodology context of 11.2% overall daily use, 8.4% for female students, and 13.6% for male students in the preceding seven days; these figures describe a related reporting frame and are not substituted for the 2019 baseline table.
Sports Drink Nonuse Among U.S. High-School Students in 2023
The CDC’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey trend report used a different framing: whether students had not drunk sports drinks during the preceding seven days. The measure captures recent nonuse, not the amount consumed by users.
| Student group, United States | No sports drink in prior 7 days, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Asian | 65% |
| Male | 58% |
| All students | 48% |
| Black | 49% |
| White | 47% |
| Multiracial | 46% |
| Hispanic | 43% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 41% |
| Female | 39% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 47% |
Because seven-day nonuse and once-per-day use answer different questions, the 2023 percentages should not be directly subtracted from the 2019 or 2021 daily-prevalence estimates. The YRBS counts the frequency of cans, bottles, or glasses in the prior seven days, excludes low-calorie sports drinks, and does not measure volume or sales.
Sports Drink Nonuse Trends from 2021 to 2023
The 2021–2023 trend data show subgroup-specific movement in the share reporting no sports-drink use. The figures below are frequency measures, not quantities.
| Student group, United States | No-use prevalence, 2021 | No-use prevalence, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Female | 55% | 58% |
| Male | 41% | 39% |
| Asian | 69% | 65% |
| Black | 42% | 43% |
| Hispanic | 44% | 47% |
| White | 49% | 49% |
| Multiracial | 51% | 47% |
Female students’ no-use prevalence was 55% in 2021 and 58% in 2023, while male students’ estimate was 41% in 2021 and 39% in 2023. Asian students remained the highest listed subgroup for no use in both years, at 69% and 65%, respectively.
Hydration Outcomes in Sports Drink Trials
Controlled trials provide outcome measurements for particular formulations and protocols rather than population adoption estimates. In a 2023 trial, 26 athletes completed three 90-minute sessions with a target body-mass loss of 2.6%.
| Beverage condition | Fluid retention after 3.5 hours |
|---|---|
| ORS, 45 mmol/L sodium and 2.5% carbohydrate | 76.9% |
| Sports drink, 18 mmol/L sodium and 6% carbohydrate | 73.9% |
| Water | 58.1% |
The ORS condition is not a typical sports drink, so its result is not a market-product comparison. The study used a small selected sample and a controlled protocol; its retention percentages should not be generalized to every sports-drink user.
Performance Outcomes in Carbohydrate-Electrolyte Trials
Performance studies tested specific drinks, doses, sports, and athlete groups. Their results are descriptive findings from small samples, not universal effects.
- In a 2002 trial, 22 professional male soccer players used a 7% carbohydrate-electrolyte drink or placebo during 90 minutes. The drink contained 24 mmol/L sodium, 12 mmol/L chloride, and 3 mmol/L potassium; post-match blood glucose was 4.4 versus 4.0 mmol/L with placebo, dribble time was 12.9 versus 13.6 seconds, and precision ratings were 17.2 versus 15.1.
Source: Effects of a carbohydrate-electrolyte drink on specific soccer tests and performance.
- In a 1992 trial, eight trained male runners completed two 40-km heat runs using a 7% carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage; final-5-km time was 21.9 versus 24.4 minutes with placebo.
Source: Carbohydrate-electrolyte replacement improves distance running performance in the heat.
- In a 2017 crossover trial of 15 male soccer players, a 12% carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage increased mean accelerations above 1.5 m/s² by more than 25% versus water and placebo, produced more than 3% faster dribbling from 60 minutes onward, and produced mean sprinting speed 2.7% higher than water. The formulation supplied 60 g carbohydrate and 205 mg sodium per 500 mL.
- In a 1995 recovery trial of 16 adults, including 12 men and 4 women, the carbohydrate-electrolyte group ran 62.0 minutes to exhaustion four hours later versus 39.8 minutes for placebo. The recovery drink provided 1.0 g carbohydrate per kg body weight immediately after the first run and again two hours later, using a 6.9% carbohydrate-electrolyte solution.
- In a 1997 trial of 19 endurance-trained cyclists, the carbohydrate-electrolyte condition completed the fixed workload in 58.74 minutes versus 60.15 minutes with placebo, a reported 2.3% performance improvement. The study used a 7.6% carbohydrate-electrolyte solution and 14 mL/kg total fluid during the trial.
Source: Carbohydrate-electrolyte feedings improve 1 h time trial cycling performance.
These athlete trials used small, selected samples, including several all-male groups, and experimental formulations. The results therefore describe the tested exercise settings and beverages rather than all sports drinks, all athletes, or the general population.