Energy drinks are under-studied, overused and can be dangerous for children and teens, warns a report by doctors who say kids shouldn't use the popular products. These energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine. The potential harms, caused mostly by too much caffeine or similar ingredients, include heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and even sudden death. Even healthy young people who drank two cans of a relatively mild energy drink every day for a week in one study saw their blood pressure and heart rate increase about 10 percent for several hours after drinking.
Introduced more than 20 years ago, energy drinks are the fastest growing U.S. beverage market; 2011 sales are expected to top $9 billion. Energy drinks can be purchased at any local supermarket or convenience store. They are usually located right next to soft drinks.
A number of scientists are worried about highly caffeinated beverages like Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster and Full Throttle; which are popular among teenagers and young adults. Some cans have four to five times more caffeine than soda and some kids drink four to five of them a day. About one-third of teens and young adults regularly consume energy drinks. The long-term effects are unknown, especially with children who have medical conditions that may increase the dangers.
Shoshanna Goldin of South Whitehall Township, a senior student at Moravian Academy in Bethlehem Township met President Obama along with other select students at the White House last fall. Shoshanna, was one of two top competitors to win a $50,000 scholarship last year from the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition for her research on the dangers of energy drinks. Goldin's study, "Energy Epidemic: Teen Perception and Consumption of Energy Drinks" showed students were drinking excessive amounts of caffeine-laden energy drinks without recognizing the potential side effects. The drinks contain twice as much caffeine as coffee and can increase blood pressure and cause jitters, headaches, nausea and insomnia, according to her study.
Deaths have been linked to alcohol-and-caffeine-laced commercial drinks like the fruity malt beverage Four Loko. Such drinks are also called “liquid cocaine” or “blackout in a can”. On November 1, 2010 the PLCB recommended that all retailers remove alcoholic energy drinks from their shelves until they are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. There have been four documented cases of caffeine-associated death, as well as five separate cases of seizure associated with consumption of energy/power drinks. The American Association of Poison Control Centers adopted codes late last year to start tracking energy drink overdoses and side effects nationwide; 677 cases occurred from October through December; so far, 331 have been reported this year. Most 2011 cases have involved children and teens. Of the more than 300 energy drink poisonings this year, a quarter of them involved kids younger than 6, according to a data chart from the poison control group.
Caffeine is the only drug that is present naturally or added widely to consumed foods. It is mildly addictive, one possible reason that makers of soft drinks add it to their products. Many coffee drinkers experience withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, irritability, sleepiness, and lethargy, when they stop drinking coffee.
Sports teams are concerned about the effects of energy drinks on athletic performance. A lot of kids are reaching for energy beverages instead of sport drinks, which unlike the energy drinks are mostly water with a nominal amount of sugar and electrolytes. The energy drinks contain some unresearched ingredients. Ingredients often found in them include taurine, glucuronolactone, B vitamins, ginseng, guarana, ginkgo biloba and milk thistle. Guarana contains high levels of caffeine.
For an athlete engaged in intense exercise, the high doses of sugar in energy drinks can impair absorption of fluids and result in dehydration. A 16-ounce can of an energy drink may contain as much as 13 teaspoons of sugar and the amount of caffeine found in four or more colas. Caffeine which is known to improve muscle action and performance, especially in endurance activities is banned in many sports competitions. Thus, consuming an energy drink close to an event could disqualify an athlete.
Adding alcohol can be a recipe for disaster. Under the stimulation of energy drinks, people may think they are sober when they are not. Such was the fate of Donte’ Stallworth, a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns who killed a pedestrian with his car in March 2009 after drinking multiple shots of tequila and a Red Bull. Stallworth said he did not feel intoxicated at the time of the accident.
CAFFEINE COMPARISONS
12 oz Pepsi 38 mg
12 oz Coca-Cola Classic 35 mg
16 oz Monster Energy 160 mg
8.4 oz Spike Shooter 300 mg
8.3 oz Red Bull 80 mg
1 tablet NoDoz (Maximum Strength) 200 mg
1 tablet Vivarin 200 mg
8 oz Coffee, generic brewed 133 mg (16 oz = 266)
16 oz Starbucks Brewed Coffee (Grande) 320 mg
16 oz Dunkin' Donuts regular coffee 206 mg
16 oz Coffee, generic instant 93 mg
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