Pediatrics report details risks from energy drinks
Baku, February 14 (AZERTAC). Energy drinks are under-studied, overused and can be dangerous for children and teens, warns a report by doctors who say kids should not use the popular 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 popular and trade media. The report`s authors want pediatricians to routinely ask patients and their parents about energy drink use and to advise against drinking them.
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.”
“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. Introduced more than 20 years ago, energy drinks are the fastest growing U.S. beverage market; 2011 sales are expected to top $9 billion, the report said. It cites research suggesting that about one-third of teens and young adults regularly consume energy drinks.
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 because of alcohol overdoses. The report focuses on nonalcoholic drinks but emphasizes that drinking them along with alcohol is dangerous.
A clinical report on energy drinks is expected soon from the American Academy of Pediatrics that may include guidelines for doctors.
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