Any immediate benefits, such as greater alertness, are outweighed by longer-term health problems – but it’s something the energy drink industry isn’t telling the public, say researchers from the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health.
The drinks generate around $10bn sales in the US alone every year, partly because they are marketed as a healthy option to improve energy levels, stamina, athletic performance and concentration.
But the drinks’ high levels of caffeine and sugars can cause a wide range of life-threatening health problems, such as hypertension, kidney damage, obesity, and mental health problems such as stress and anxiety.
The impact could be even more severe in children and adolescents – who are often the focus of the energy drink industry’s marketing – although its extent isn’t known because it’s never been assessed.
As a precautionary move, the sale of the drinks should be restricted, and children and adolescents should be barred from purchasing them, the researchers say.
(Source: Frontiers in Public Health, 2017; 5: doi: 10.3389/fpubn.2017.00225)
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