Caffeine and Children= NO GOOD!

In this paper, it goes into details about energy drinks and the effect that it could have on children if consumed. It mentioned that there is evidence that shows that children and teenagers who drink energy drinks would have an increased risk of consuming alcohol, smoking or using drugs. By consuming energy drinks at an early age, they will more likely have unhealthy diets which can lead to obesity and many more. There are also many underlying possible heart diseases that can come from consuming energy drinks. 

Energy drinks are a substance that is high in caffeine and sugar. Caffeine is an alkaloid found naturally in plants, fruits, coffee beans, tea leaves and many more.Caffeine as we know, stimulates the nervous system and enhances concentration and performance in adults. The safe guideline for consuming caffeine would be 3mg/kg body weight to not be at a risk for too much caffeine. In one 500ml can of energy drink would contain about 20 teaspoons of sugar. This would put consumers at an increased risk for dental erosion, obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

Going back to the kids. In a study, it shows that adolescents who consume energy drinks are at an increased risk for risky behavior such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and doing drugs due to the lack of monitoring from parents which increase the sensation-seeking tendencies making them more addicting. This behavior would carry on to their teenager life and adult where they are more susceptible to addiction.  It has also been shown that people who drink low sugar to no sugar energy would consume twice as much more caffeine as the individuals who drink the sugar ones because they think it is more “healthy” so they consume more (Visram, S., & Hashem, K. (2016). More caffeine requires ourr body to work even harder so is zero sugar a good idea?

It is important to educate children about the energy drink and the possible effect it could have on their health. This will help with preventing possible behaviors that would be bad for the child.

Visram, S., & Hashem, K. (2016). Energy drinks: what's the evidence?.https://dro.dur.ac.uk/22674/1/22674.pdf?DDD45+DDC57+xttk85+d700tmt