Sports and Energy Drinks Lead to More Unhealthy Habits in Kids

Your kid may love downing a sports or energy drink after school or as a morning pick-me-up but research published in the May/June issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that kids who drink these beverages on a weekly basis engage in unhealthier behaviors than those who consume them less frequently.

Researchers pulled data from 20 public middle and high schools and had nearly 3,000 kids fill out surveys about their consumption of sports and energy drinks. For both genders, those who consumed these drinks were likelier to drink sugary beverages, smoke cigarettes, and spend more time playing video games. Notably, among boys, those who consumed energy drinks on a weekly basis spent an additional four hours per week playing video games compared to those who consumed energy drinks less often. Boys who drank more of the drinks also watched an additional hour of television per week than, while girls who consumed weekly energy drinks were prone to skipping breakfast — a dangerous habit that can cause teens to overeat in response to feeling unsatisfied throughout the day, according to research conducted by the University of Missouri.

The reason for the associations weren’t clear, and Yahoo Shine could not reach the author of the Nutrition Education and Behavior for comment; however, other authorities on child nutrition have questioned the use of sports and energy drinks by kids and teens.

Sports drinks contain electrolytes, which are meant to replace the ones lost during vigorous exercise. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), although these beverages are heavily marketed to young people, they’re bad choices for kids for two reasons — they often contain substances such as caffeine and guarana (an energy supplement), and kids usually don’t engage in the level of high-intensity sports that would require replenishing their electrolytes.

The new study coincides with Monday's news that Coca-Cola will remove brominated vegetable oil (a food additive in beverages "generally recognized as safe" by the FDA) from its energy drink, Powerade, one year after PepsiCo removed the ingredient from Gatorade. According to the Mayo Clinic, a buildup of bromine has led to a few reports of memory loss and skin and nerve damage. The AAP advises that kids should only consume sports drinks after “vigorous, prolonged activity” and avoid energy drinks completely because they “offer no benefit.”

“For most children engaging in routine physical activity, plain water is best,” Marcie Beth Schneider, MD, FAAP, a member of the AAP Committee on Nutrition, said in an AAP press release. “Sports drinks contain extra calories that children don’t need, and could contribute to obesity and tooth decay. It’s better for children to drink water during and after exercise, and to have the recommended intake of juice and low-fat milk with meals. Sports drinks are not recommended as beverages to have with meals.”