Too much energy?
- Jul 21, 2008 - 2
New favorite beverage of teens potentially dangerous
Would you let your child drink four cans of Coke in one sitting? Not likely. But what many parents don’t realize is that energy drinks, which are quickly becoming a favorite beverage among teenagers, often have the same amount of caffeine and sugar in only one can.
According to a New York Times article from May, roughly one-third of 12- to 24-year-olds now consume energy drinks like Red Bull, Rockstar and Full Throttle on a regular basis, creating a growing concern among nutritionists.
“There are a lot of potential problems with energy drinks,” said Debbie Strong, program director for the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s EatRight Weight Management Services. “They have a lot of calories and a lot of sugar and obviously a lot of caffeine. All those can lead to problems, whether it be weight issues or even heart rate problems.”
‘Hyperjolt and crash’
But what makes the drinks most harmful is the “hyperjolt and crash cycle,” said Donna Funderburke-McKinley, education and resource director for Safe Harbor, a Birmingham-based organization that helps inform and educate parents about issues facing teens.
“One drink is probably OK,” she said. “But the crash is the problem. When you crash after reaching the energy high, you are completely exhausted. So you end up drinking another one to get more energy again. It’s a cycle.”
Funderburke-McKinley said many parents, schoolteachers and youth ministers are either unaware of or simply choose to ignore the danger.
But news of problems associated with energy drink consumption has forced some parents and teachers to take a hard look at the issue. This past April, one student was hospitalized and several others became ill after consuming too many energy drinks during the high school prom for Tuscaloosa’s American Christian Academy (ACA).
In 2007, consuming a high-caffeine energy drink sent several high school students in Colorado to the hospital, and earlier this year, as many as six middle school students in Florida were hospitalized for the same reason. In the various cases, students cited light-headedness, sweating and rapid heart palpitations. As a result, several schools, including ACA, have considered banning the drinks from their campuses.
“I just don’t think parents want to be aware,” Funderburke-McKinley said. “We have become inundated with these types of things, and we think because we drink a cup of coffee each morning that these drinks are harmless to children. But their bodies can react so differently.”
Even college students and older adult groups can experience problems with energy drinks as they commonly mix them with alcohol, creating a potentially harmful combination for the body.
“It is scary to think that these energy drinks are being used as a mixer with vodka and whiskey,” David Pearson, director of the strength research laboratory at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., told online magazine ScienceDaily. “You are just overloading the body with heavy stimulants and heavy depressants.”
Mixed with alcohol
People who mix alcohol with energy drinks do not feel the effects of the alcohol as readily because of the stimulant from the caffeine in the energy drink. According to research by Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., this explains why college students who mix alcohol with energy drinks are at a higher risk of alcohol-related injuries than those who drink regular cocktails.
Despite the health warnings, the energy drink industry has continued to expand, with per capita consumption in the United States expected to grow from three to eight ounces by 2011, according to food and drink industries consultant Zenith International. And researchers have been left wondering why the drinks remain so appealing to young people, especially considering that the average energy drink costs between $2 and $4.
One theory from the Journal of American College Health posits that there is a relationship between energy drink consumption and “toxic jock identity.”
According to the research, “Sport-related identity, masculinity and risk taking are components of the emerging portrait of a toxic jock identity … . College undergraduates’ frequent consumption of Red Bull and comparable energy drinks should be recognized as a potential predictor of toxic jock identity.”
‘Legal’ drug?
Because of their relationship with risk taking and hypermasculinity, many energy drinks have evolved into a type of “legal alternative” for drugs, said Funderburke-McKinley.
One energy drink holds little reservation about such a description. It’s called Cocaine Energy Drink. It contains 280 milligrams of caffeine in an 8.4-ounce serving, compared to a 12-ounce can of Coke, which contains only 34 milligrams of caffeine. On top of the caffeine, Cocaine Energy also boasts a special throat-numbing ingredient, designed to give a sensation similar to that of cocaine.
Strong said the bottom line is “parents just need to tell their kids to stay away from these drinks. Just stay away.”
This article is reprinted from the July 10, 2008, issue of The Alabama Baptist, the newspaper of the Alabama Baptist State Convention.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to fight substance abuse across the country. If you would like to learn more about this important issue, additional resources are available here. If your church is interested in purchasing materials on substance abuse, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com.
2 comments (post your own) feed
1 On Jul 22nd, 2008, at 5:16pm, Cheyanne wrote:
It’s understandable for parents to be concerned about the health risks involved with energy drinks. Most energy drinks are marketing towards those 18 and over, and some convenience stores wont sell to minors.
There are energy drinks out there that have better benefits for health as well as a variety of flavors. I work for 6 Hour Power so I’ve got the inside scoop on our delicious energy shots - they’re sugar free, feeling fast - energy that lasts with no crash.
check it out at http://www.6hrpower.com/ for more info.
2 On Jul 23rd, 2008, at 10:02pm, Pastor Joel Tobey wrote:
I am a 37 year old Bi-vocational Pastor of a small church. I work 40-45hrs at a regular job and 40+ hrs at church plus have a wife and three children. I have used energy drinks to give me a pick me up but I have been told recently by my Dr. that these are causing my headaches and add to my bodies stress. He said the best way to get energy is to eat right, exersise, and get rest. This is hard to do for many people including me, but we need to teach our kids that a quick fix me up is not the answer or they will be worse off than we are.