Energy drinks bad for kids, experts warn
Posted in the www.GulfCoastMoms.com
By By Howard Cohen
McClatchy Newspapers
Originally published on 04/29/2008
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| McClatchy News Service |
| Gulf Coast Moms.com |
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MIAMI - Energy drinks charged into the U.S. market in 1997 with Red Bull and its claim: "Improves performance ... increased concentration ... stimulates the metabolism."
At 66.7 mg of caffeine per 8.3-ounce can, that would be a mere blip in the bold new world of energy drinks. A cup of coffee, by contrast, has 107.5 mg.
Today, provocative handles like Cocaine (since changed to No Name, owing to a 2007 FDA ruling against naming a product after an illegal drug), Blow, Bawls, Monster, Rockstar, Pimp Juice, Dopamine, SoBe No Fear and Spike Shooter abound. Caffeine counts of 350 milligrams - the equivalent of 10 cans of Coke - are common. The slogans scream: "Feel the freak." "Get spiked!" "Party like a rockstar."
The $2-per-can drinks buzzed $4.7 billion in sales in 2007, up from $3.5 billion in 2006, according to market research firm ACNielsen.
The drinks, with their high caffeine content, have caused concern among health professionals - especially when kids consume them. Studies have linked excessive caffeine in children to elevated heart rates, hypertension, anxiety, headaches and interrupted sleep patterns.
Last month, four students at Falcon Cove Middle School in Weston were taken to the emergency room of Memorial Hospital West/Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital with racing hearts and body sweats. They said they shared a can of Redline.
"We have been seeing lots of kids coming in with anxiety attacks - it has gone up in the last year and a half," says Dr. Deanna Soloway, assistant medical director of the pediatric emergency room at Hollywood, Fla.'s Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.
"One of the routine questions we ask them is about their intake of energy drinks. Many kids are using them. I believe there is some connection between the use of energy drinks and hypertension, elevated heart rate, jitters. We had to monitor these four kids for several hours and put them on hydration."
The Florida Poison Control Center at the University of Miami/Jackson reports that 39 people ages 2 to 20 had symptoms of caffeine overexposure between January 2007 and March 2008. The signs were serious enough that it led to the center's tracking of this data. Statewide, the number was 125 during this period.
"It's grown because of the popularity of these products," said Dr. Richard Weisman, the center's director.
Another popular concoction with older teens and college students - vodka mixed with energy drinks - also alarms health experts. The stimulant effect of caffeine masks the depressant effects of alcohol and can lead individuals to carry out activities, like driving, while impaired.
In addition to caffeine, the berry-flavored Redline contains yohimbine, used in treating erectile dysfunction, and vinpocetine, used in Europe in the treatment of Alzheimer's, according to David Schardt, senior nutritionist for Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group.
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You can join us on Tuesdays at Panera Bread on Airport Rd and Naples Blvd. at 7PM weekly for our
Verve Healthy Happy Hour Tasting. Bring friends and let's change lives!!!
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