7 harmful effects of energy drinks to teenagers, parents know?

In addition to soft drinks, today's young people, especially teenagers, are quite fond of energy drinks. According to statistics, up to one third of teenagers aged 12–17 years consume this drink on a regular basis. However, according to health experts, there are many harmful effects of energy drinks on this subject. 

Based on research published in the journal Nutrition Education and Behavior, it is found that today's young people are quite vulnerable to energy drink ads in the media. From there, the children will have an attitude that is more accepting of this drink.

Accordingly, parents today need to be aware of the harmful effects of energy drinks to give advice, as well as measures to limit the consumption of this "harm more than good" beverage.

What's in an energy drink bottle that makes young people so fascinated?

The answer lies in their delicious taste, cheap price, trendy designs, good promotions, and more importantly, these products are easy to find everywhere. Just that much is enough to make our "teenagers" ready to spend their money on this drink every day.

In most surveys, a majority of teenagers reported that they tend to choose energy drinks when feeling lethargic, lethargic, or needing to replenish their energy for upcoming activities.

The secret "increase energy" is that the ingredient in each product usually contains a lot of sugar (when the body will convert it into glucose and then create energy) to help muscles work efficiently. Next must include substances such as inositol, taurine, adenosine, especially caffeine - central nervous stimulants that make users feel excited, mental euphoria.

Based on the basic ingredients mentioned above, you can completely realize that this drink does not provide essential nutrients. In terms of rehydration effect, it cannot be listed in the appropriate product group. Moreover, the caffeine in this water can also cause some children to lose sleep or have an arrhythmia if the body is not tolerated well.

Types of energy drinks often found on the market

Through some of the above information, you can see some harm of energy drinks to health. There are quite a few types of energy supplement on the market, but the most common are two:

Bottled or canned are similar to soft drinks

Small bottles of capacity, also known as "energy shots"

The second form is not common in our country and has a much higher caffeine content than the regular one. Long-term intake of caffeine can lead to high blood pressure in adolescents, even weakening the child's resistance.

7 harmful effects of energy drinks for teenagers you need to know

As mentioned earlier, the harmful effects of energy drinks mostly come from caffeine and other by-products, namely:

1. Increased heart rate

In theory, caffeine can cause a heart palpitations , increase blood flow to the heart, and stimulate the respiratory center.

Through a study conducted in 2015 and published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, it has been found that the abuse of energy drinks in adolescents increases the risk of cardiovascular complications, especially especially for children with pre-existing heart disease.

2. Increased risk of obesity

The combination of sugar and caffeine makes energy drinks more dangerous than ever. Because, caffeine has the ability to cause addiction, once you have become a "believer" of this drink, children will be more prone to obesity.

The disease offers a lot of chances for more serious health problems to emerge such as cardiovascular disease , diabetes , and stroke .

3. Agitation in children

The reason this drink looks eye-catching is due to the use of synthetic colorants. However, these ingredients are associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. This is also one of the harmful effects of energy drinks that many parents care about. Because children with this condition cannot sit still, affecting their learning.

4. Causing headaches and mood swings

The harmful effects of this energy drink come from guarana, another popular ingredient. This substance has CNS stimulant effect, sometimes can reduce appetite in children. However, some of the negative effects it has can be listed: insomnia, headache, and mood swings.

5. Dehydration

Going back to caffeine, in addition to increasing heart rate, it also has a mild diuretic effect. This means that its presence in the body stimulates the kidneys to increase urine production.

If the child unfortunately gets too much of this substance at the same time, dehydration can occur. The harmful effects of energy drinks often appear when children first use this product and do not know how to rehydrate.

6. Sleep Disorders

Teenagers who consume energy drinks regularly will be at risk of facing sleep disorder . This situation also causes children to lack concentration, as well as impair the ability to absorb information at school.

According to experts, teenagers with sleep disorders can develop bad habits in the future, such as smoking or using alcohol or beer.

7. Damage to tooth enamel

Most energy drinks contain citric acid, an agent that erodes tooth enamel. Research comparing energy drinks with sports drinks showed that the first was twice as likely to dissolve tooth enamel. In general, to keep your teeth healthy, stay away from sugary drinks.

If any energy drink contains caffeine more than 500mg then caffeine toxicity can occur.

Energy drinks for teenagers, how much is okay?

In fact, there aren't any specific recommendations about how much energy drinks is safe to use. Many teenagers think that the more they drink, the more alert their body will be and their performance in learning and working will also improve. However, children do not completely understand that this is very harmful to health.

The amount of caffeine that we can consume depends largely on our age factor, experts say. For teenagers, this person should avoid consuming more than 100mg of caffeine a day. Determining the amount of this substance is also quite easy, because the caffeine figure is clearly shown through the food label on each energy drink bottle or can.

If used occasionally, this drink is not completely harmful. However, parents need to remind their children not to make this a daily habit.

Each energy bottle / can usually has 60–90mg of caffeine, which equates to 1 medium-sized espresso. Accordingly, the recommended level of caffeine in teenagers is no more than 100mg per day. If taking more than 400mg per day is called an overdose and children may experience some symptoms such as insomnia , anxiety ...

Undeniably, energy drinks are an effective lifesaver for situations that require immediate alertness and concentration. However, the harm that this drink brings to the body, especially for adolescents, should not be taken lightly. Instead of giving money to their children for these unhealthy drinks, parents can practice healthy habits by using herbal teas or fruit juices instead.