Energy Drinks and Adolescents: Just Say No

Does your tween or teen consume energy drinks? If so, how much do you actually know about these highly marketed caffeine bombs pushed toward your child? Popular among middle and high school students, energy drinks are touted as safe and effective by advertisers (and often coaches), promising boosts in energy, nutrition and enhanced athletic performance. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, alongside multivitamins, energy drinks are the most sought-after dietary supplement consumed by teens and young adults. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition and the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness state that these drinks “are not appropriate for children and adolescents and should never be consumed.” Yet between 30 and 50 percent of adolescents reported using energy drinks, and many of them have been hospitalized for adverse reactions to these drinks.

Not to be confused with sports drinks (e.g., Powerade, Vitamin Water and Gatorade), these energy drinks, such as Red Bull, Rockstar and Monster, are marketed with great appeal by advertisers and manufacturers as containing “natural” ingredients. On the packaging, you will see very fancy names, such as taurine, gingko biloba, ginseng and guarana seeds, and some of these ingredients’ safety and effectiveness haven’t been tested in children. In reality, these drinks are loaded with sugar, offer no nutritional value and are actually harmful in high doses. Some may contain up to 400 mg of caffeine in one serving (the equivalent of 11 sodas or four coffees). Such high doses of caffeine may work together with the other ingredients in these drinks to cause adverse reactions such as sleep disturbances, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, anxiety, irritability, weight gain, tooth decay, heart arrhythmia and vomiting. They’ve also been reported to cause very serious problems like seizures, cardiac events and even death.

So how much caffeine is okay for our kids? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that adolescents ages 12 to 18 years should not exceed 100 milligrams of caffeine a day. This is the amount of caffeine in an 8-ounce cup of coffee. Some may argue that when consumed in smaller amounts, like one or two cans, these drinks are safe and can give kids the boost they need. However, once the drinks are allowed, regulating the quantity of what our kids consume is difficult. It’s equally challenging to tell when teens are becoming addicted to the stimulant effects of these drinks. And when combined with alcohol, prescription drugs or illegal drugs, they can cause potentially fatal effects.

Sports personalities back up these products for the energy-drink companies, giving our youth the false impression these drinks are a healthy beverage that will help them perform better. And sadly, our youth are drinking up that message. Adolescents admit they see energy drinks as a great alternative to soda because they contain vitamins, a conclusion far from the truth. Also unfortunate is that many coaches out there are also pushing the occasional use of energy drinks for their young athletes. However, the National Federation of State High School Associations recommends that young athletes should not use energy drinks for hydration at all. Instead, they recommend that information about the potential risks of these beverages be widely distributed to tweens and teens, and the American College of Sports Medicine couldn’t agree more. The ACSM recently advised:

• Energy drinks should not be marketed to kids and adolescents.
• Energy drinks should not be consumed before, during or after vigorous exercise, because the practice has been linked to deaths.
• We should do more to educate youth about energy drink consumption. One suggestion was that formal education about these drinks be a part of school nutrition and covered in health and wellness classes.

The next time your kids are looking for a boost in energy, please don’t put their health at risk by reaching for an energy drink. Instead, have them focus on effective training, healthy eating, plenty of water and adequate rest. The extra effort will be worth it in the end!

Gina Klein is a homeschooling mom, writer and author in Kansas City who steers clear from energy drinks and believes in the importance of educating others about the harmful effects they can have on our tweens and teens.

As always, please consult your health care provider with any questions or concerns.