Dive Brief:
- Researchers have again connected the consumption of energy drinks with health complications in kids and teens, according to a new report published in Pediatric Emergency Care.
- A questionnaire conducted at two emergency departments from June 2011 to June 2013 surveyed adolescents between ages 12 and 18, one-third of whom said they frequently consumed energy drinks.
- Among those teens, just over three-quarters said they experienced a headache in the last six months, nearly half said they experienced anger, and 22% said they'd had difficulty breathing. Other conditions researchers identified included high blood pressure and hyperactivity.
Dive Insight:
This report doesn't prove that energy drinks caused these symptoms in teens, as it shows only a correlation. But the teens who did frequently consume energy drinks were statistically more likely to have these types of health conditions, which may cause health-conscious parents to cut back on energy drink purchases.
One question health experts have is which ingredient(s) could be the cause of these health complications. Energy drinks are often high in sugar, which is already a point of concern for health-conscious consumers.
To try to deter teens' energy drink consumption, health advocates could push for soda taxes, which could be more impactful on teens' smaller expendable budgets and may disproportionately affect them compared to working adults. A recent study also found that teens were less likely to purchase sugary beverages with warning labels on them.
But energy drinks also offer a wide range of energy-boosting herbal supplements outside of caffeine. If brands don't properly measure the effects and interactions of these herbal stimulants, vitamins and minerals in their varying dosages, consumers could be ingesting higher levels than the recommended daily intake.