Keep energy drinks away from your kids
Highly caffeinated drinks can cause adverse health effects in young children
Energy drinks are a convenient way to get a quick boost. However, a new study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2014 has revealed some alarming statistics about these caffeinated beverages.
Of the 5,516 reports to US poison control centres over a three-year period regarding “energy drink exposure”, more than 40 percent (which were classified as unintentional) involved children under six, the study says.
Energy drinks usually contain pharmaceutical-grade caffeine and added caffeine from natural sources. While a regular cup of coffee contains 100-150 mg of caffeine, some energy drinks may contain up to 400 mg. Caffeine poisoning may occur at levels higher than 100 mg a day in adolescents and 2.5 mg per kg of body weight in children under 12. Furthermore, many of the added ingredients in energy drinks have not been tested for safety in children.
"Energy drinks have no place in paediatric diets," study author Dr Steven Lipschultz, professor and chair of paediatrics at Wayne State University and paediatrician-in-chief at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, said in a press release. "And anyone with underlying cardiac, neurologic or other significant medical conditions should check with their health care provider to make sure it's safe to consume energy drinks."
It’s been established that energy drinks with multiple caffeine sources have been linked to a range of health problems. In the study, some of the effects of ingesting energy drinks included abnormal heart rhythms and seizures. Researchers are now calling for better labelling of energy drinks, to reflect high caffeine content and subsequent health consequences in greater detail.
Further links:
Sciencedaily.com
Newsroom.heart.org
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