US Doctors Warn About The Risks Energy Drinks Pose To Kids. What Families Need To Know

 

 

Sean and Heidi Cripe will never forget the call from their son's high school saying Davis was being taken to the emergency room. "He chugged an energy drink — like, just trying to be cool," said Sean Cripe, recounting the day nearly a decade ago. The teen's heart soon fell out of rhythm and he died.

While such deaths are rare, doctors across the country have warned for years that energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine that can seriously harm children, causing problems such as abnormal heartbeats, increased heart rate, sleep disturbances, dehydration, agitation, high blood pressure and seizures.

 

A newly formed coalition of doctors is highlighting these risks in the wake of a sponsorship deal between Monster Energy and the Big 12 Conference college athletic organization. The group has asked conference leaders to pause the sponsorship and the NCAA to review energy drink marketing to youths in general, citing the deaths of three children including Davis, a 16-year-old from South Carolina. The doctors stress that they're not just concerned about Monster but all energy drinks and any similar partnerships.

 

"Kids are going to see energy drinks now promoted by the universities and the athletes that they admire and want to emulate," said Dr. Matthew Nelson, an Idaho cardiologist involved with the effort. "The kids will think of them as sports drinks, which they're not."

Too much caffeine can harm kids in many ways

Various medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, say children and teens should avoid energy drinks altogether. Yet many are not. According to the latest results of the federally funded Monitoring the Future survey, run by the University of Michigan, 23% of 12th graders, 20% of 10th graders and 18% of eighth graders reported consuming energy drinks daily.

 

Depending on the product, caffeine content can range from 80 to 300 mg per serving. By comparison, a typical 8-ounce coffee contains about 80 to 100 mg and some sodas contain 50 mg or less. Overall, the pediatrics academy recommends children ages 12 to 18 limit caffeine to 100 mg a day. Younger kids are discouraged from consuming any caffeine.

 

Caffeine and other stimulants increase heart rate and the reactivity of the nervous system – basically "how fast things go in the body, which can create an overload of the system," said Dr. Tamara Hannon, an Indiana pediatrician who chairs the academy's nutrition committee. She likened it to running a blender until the motor heats up too much. "The same thing can happen when you deliver stimulants to people," she said. "The heart can wear out, the nervous system can go haywire and you can have really serious consequences."