Energy drinks are everywhere these days— even in school vending machines. Thanks to sometimes brightly-colored cans, teens especially are drawn to these beverages to help them wake up or for a quick boost at school or on the sports field.
But these drinks are risky. From 2022 to 2023, there was a 24.2 percent increase in calls to poison control centers for kids and teens younger than age 20 related to energy drinks. The numbers for kids ages 6 to 12 doubled.
Energy drinks often contain caffeine from multiple sources such as green tea extract, yerba mate and guarana. There’s no limit to how much caffeine each can have, and it’s not required to be listed on the label.
In fact, one popular energy drink contains roughly six to seven times the amount of caffeine as a typical soda. Kids who ingest too much caffeine may experience a racing heart rate, nervousness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia and dehydration. Many energy drinks have more than 50 grams of sugar—that’s twice what most kids should ingest in a day.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends kids younger than 18 have no caffeine at all. Most pediatricians agree: “I’m not a big fan of these energy drinks,” says Chanel V. Thompson-Rogers, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Rutgers Health New Jersey Medical School in Newark. “They are not regulated and are not a healthy beverage for kids. The high amounts of caffeine wreak havoc on a kid’s brain, and the large amounts of added sugar increase a child’s risk of developing conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.”
Talk to your kids about avoiding these drinks, and discuss alternatives. The simple truth? Plain old water is still the best choice for staying hydrated.
— Arricca Elin SanSone is a health and lifestyle writer.
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