One advantage of having an office in Atlas, overlooking the Koeveld, is that almost everything happens right before our eyes: from protests and demonstrations to drinks, parties, and graduates making photos with the red TU/e letters.

But we also regularly see a Red Bull car parked there, with young people handing out cans of energy drink to passersby in need of a boost. My fellow “boomer” colleagues and I still find it odd: why is that commercial club there, giving away this kind of stuff?

Because it is junk, right? I checked the website of the Voedingscentrum (the Netherlands Nutrition Centre). A single can of energy drink contains 7 to 8 sugar cubes. I don’t see anyone putting that many cubes in their coffee. And then there’s the carbonation in soft drinks, which isn’t great for your teeth—especially combined with that amount of sugar.

A can of energy drink also contains 80 mg of caffeine, which is more than the average 125 ml cup of coffee (60 mg). But to be fair: I start my day with a double dose of coffee (120 mg), so in that sense I’m doing “worse.” And caffeine isn’t necessarily bad: a dose of 75 milligrams can actually improve alertness and concentration.

It only becomes a problem if you consume more than 400 mg per day. Keep in mind that caffeine isn’t just found in coffee, but also in black and green tea, and in chocolate—all readily available at our university. You won’t hear me complaining about that.

Still, I don’t think Red Bull’s giveaways belong on the TU/e campus. But I could stand to take a more critical look at my own daily intake of caffeine and sugar through coffee, tea, and chocolate. Fortunately, the Easter eggs in the department are all gone now.

Annemarie van Malsen is a communications officer at TU/e’s Department of Industrial Design. The views expressed in this column are her own.

This column was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.