Pulse Pre-Workout Drinks Contain Far More Calories Per Serving than Advertised, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action alleges Legion Athletics’ Pulse pre-workout drinks contain far more calories per serving than advertised.

The 28-page lawsuit says that although Legion Athletics claims that each powdered Pulse pre-workout beverage contains 10 calories per serving, the products actually have approximately 85 calories per serving. 

According to the suit, Pulse pre-workout drinks have been “purposely misbranded” by Legion Athletics for the sake of gaining an advantage over competitors in the marketplace. Per the case, buyers have been left with a product they’ve been misled into believing contains relatively few calories per serving. 

“[I]t is the consumers that ultimately suffer by this deviant and non-compliant behavior because Legion knowingly provides non-factual information and omits relevant information in an attempt to deceive and entice sales to consumers who are seeking to purchase low-calorie products conducive to weight loss and control,” the complaint alleges. 

The filing states that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance with regard to the nutritional labeling of food outlines several methods for estimating calories, including the following five methods that apply to the Pulse pre-workout drinks: 

“These methods include (1) calories based on a per gram measurement of protein, fat, and carbohydrate of specific foods and other ingredients (this method is known as the Atwater Method); (2) calories calculated by assigning four, four, and nine calories per gram for protein, total carbohydrate, and total fat, respectively; (3) calories calculated by assigning four, four, and nine calories per gram for protein, total carbohydrate, and total fat, respectively, but then subtracting two calories per gram for non-digestible carbohydrates and between zero and three calories per gram of sugar alcohols; (4) using data for specific food factors for particular foods or ingredients approved by the FDA; and (5) using bomb calorimetry data.” 

Importantly, calories, according to the FDA, are a “third group” nutrient, meaning that they are associated with health concerns, the complaint says. Accordingly, a product’s calories per serving, like saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, must not exceed the amount stated on the item’s label by more than 20 percent, the lawsuit states. 

The suit relays that the plaintiff, a Remsenburg, New York resident, conducted independent calorie calculation testing of the Pulse pre-workout products that revealed they contained approximately 368 calories per 100 grams. According to the suit, each serving, assuming Legion’s standard serving size recommendation of 23.05 grams, contains roughly 85 calories, “significantly more than the ten calories advertised and/or implied by omission.” 

The complaint relays that the plaintiff analyzed each variety of the Pulse pre-workout powder in accordance with the five calorie-calculation methods provided by the FDA and concluded that each method’s results yielded a caloric value that exceeded the claims on each product’s label by more than 20 percent. 

“Thus, consumers in the state of New York, such as Plaintiff, as well as consumers across the nation, have been, and continue to be, misled into purchasing Defendant’s nutritional powders with the belief that they only contain ten calories,” the case alleges. 

The lawsuit looks to represent all consumers nationwide who bought any flavor variety of Legion Athletics’ Pulse pre-workout drink in the United States within the last four years. 

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