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Report warns of perils to kids from consuming energy drinks
Source: Agencies |
February 15, 2011, Tuesday
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ENERGY drinks are under-studied, overused and can be dangerous for kids, warns a report by American doctors who say youths shouldn't use the products.
The potential harms, caused mostly by too much caffeine or similar ingredients, include heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and even sudden death, the authors write in the medical journal Pediatrics. They reviewed data from the government and interest groups, scientific literature, case reports and articles in the media.
Dakota Sailor, 18, a high school senior in Missouri, says risks linked with energy drinks aren't just hype.
Sailor had a seizure and was hospitalized for five days last year after drinking two large energy drinks - a brand he'd never tried before. He said his doctor thinks caffeine or caffeine-like ingredients may have been to blame.
The report says some cans have four to five times more caffeine than soda, and Sailor said some kids he knows "drink four or five of them a day. That's just dumb."
The report's authors want pediatricians to routinely ask patients and their parents about energy drink use and to advise against drinking them.
"We would discourage the routine use" by children and teens, said Dr Steven Lipshultz, pediatrics chairman at the University of Miami's medical school. He wrote the report with colleagues from that center.
The report says energy drinks often contain ingredients that can enhance the jittery effects of caffeine or that can have other side effects including nausea and diarrhea. It says they should be regulated as stringently as tobacco, alcohol and prescription medicines.
"For most children, adolescents, and young adults, safe levels of consumption have not been established," it says.
Introduced more than 20 years ago, energy drinks are the fastest growing US beverage market and 2011 sales are expected to top US$9 billion, the report says. It cites research suggesting that about one-third of teens and young adults regularly consume energy drinks. Yet research is lacking on risk from long-term use and effects in kids - especially those with medical conditions that may increase the dangers, it says.
The report comes amid a crackdown on energy drinks containing alcohol and caffeine, including recent Food and Drug Administration warning letters to manufacturers and bans in several states.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers last year started tracking energy drink overdoses and side effects nationwide - 677 cases occurred from October through December and 331 have been reported this year.
The potential harms, caused mostly by too much caffeine or similar ingredients, include heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and even sudden death, the authors write in the medical journal Pediatrics. They reviewed data from the government and interest groups, scientific literature, case reports and articles in the media.
Dakota Sailor, 18, a high school senior in Missouri, says risks linked with energy drinks aren't just hype.
Sailor had a seizure and was hospitalized for five days last year after drinking two large energy drinks - a brand he'd never tried before. He said his doctor thinks caffeine or caffeine-like ingredients may have been to blame.
The report says some cans have four to five times more caffeine than soda, and Sailor said some kids he knows "drink four or five of them a day. That's just dumb."
The report's authors want pediatricians to routinely ask patients and their parents about energy drink use and to advise against drinking them.
"We would discourage the routine use" by children and teens, said Dr Steven Lipshultz, pediatrics chairman at the University of Miami's medical school. He wrote the report with colleagues from that center.
The report says energy drinks often contain ingredients that can enhance the jittery effects of caffeine or that can have other side effects including nausea and diarrhea. It says they should be regulated as stringently as tobacco, alcohol and prescription medicines.
"For most children, adolescents, and young adults, safe levels of consumption have not been established," it says.
Introduced more than 20 years ago, energy drinks are the fastest growing US beverage market and 2011 sales are expected to top US$9 billion, the report says. It cites research suggesting that about one-third of teens and young adults regularly consume energy drinks. Yet research is lacking on risk from long-term use and effects in kids - especially those with medical conditions that may increase the dangers, it says.
The report comes amid a crackdown on energy drinks containing alcohol and caffeine, including recent Food and Drug Administration warning letters to manufacturers and bans in several states.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers last year started tracking energy drink overdoses and side effects nationwide - 677 cases occurred from October through December and 331 have been reported this year.
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