Energy Drinks Unleashing Teenage Monsters

Article by healthybalance.com staff
Posted on June 17, 2008

We’re a nation of coffee drinkers. Those who don’t rely on a cup of Joe every morning look to other caffeinated beverages on a habitual basis. Adults drinking coffee is one thing. What about children and teens?

Highly caffeinated energy drinks are heavily marketed to teenage consumers. A new study found that teens who drink a lot of caffeinated energy drinks are more likely to be involved in risky behaviors. And, a popular teen trend, mixing energy drinks with alcohol, can increase those risks exponentially.

Health risks for any age

In addition to increasing risky behavior in teenagers, ingesting too much caffeine can cause sleep problems, low birth weight, high blood pressure and kidney issues. Caffeine also acts as a diuretic, driving water out of your body and causing dehydration. When you’re chronically dehydrated, you are at risk for a whole host of health problems. “Some people can have a really strong cup of coffee and go right to sleep and other people get that jittery, nervous, overstimulated feeling from the same amount of caffeine,” says dietician Cynthia Sass RD. “When you are fatigued your body needs sleep and you aren’t going to function well until you get it. Using a stimulant like caffeine is a temporary band-aid to the problem.”

Researchers from the University of Florida compared the caffeine content of 10 of the best-selling energy drinks along with 19 soda pops and seven other popular commercial beverages. Many of the energy drinks served up twice as much caffeine as the typical caffeinated soda pop. These scientists hope their findings spur the FDA to require that the caffeine content of energy drinks be listed on the labels. “We think these beverages should be clearly labeled with the caffeine content listed just as other nutrients are listed,” says Bruce A. Goldberger PhD, University of Florida toxicologist..
Johns Hopkins professor of behavioral biology Roland Griffiths, PhD, agrees.

“The ads give people the idea that they are getting a cocktail of various ingredients fine-tuned to synergistically enhance energy,” he says. “As far as I can tell, this is bogus. The effects of these drinks are largely due to the presence of added caffeine, and the magnitude of the effect is completely caffeine-dose dependent.”

Caffeine countdown

Here’s the caffeine count in popular energy drinks compared to popular soft drinks and coffee.

• SoBe’s Adrenalin Rush – 8.3 oz. – 80 milligrams
• SoBe’s No Fear – 16 oz. – 141 milligrams
• Red Bull – 8 oz. – 67 milligrams
• Red Devil – 8 oz. – 42 milligrams
• Rockstar – 8 oz. – 80 milligrams
• Full Throttle – 16 oz. – 144 milligrams
• Monster – 16 oz. – 160 milligrams
• Coca-Cola Classic – 12 oz. – 29 milligrams
• Diet Coke – 12 oz. – 38 milligrams
• Mountain Dew – 12 oz. – 45 milligrams
• Regular coffee – 8 oz. – 100 – 150 milligrams