Not for kids

Energy drinks high on caffeine can be harmful to a child8217;s health. Read on to know why

Twelve-year-old Karnika Nayyar gulps down three bottles of an energy drink in a day. 8220;I take a bottle to school, drink one in the afternoon and the third in the evening before I go for my tennis lessons,8221; she says. Like Karnika, a lot of young children are now dependent on energy drinks that do more harm then good.

In a study appearing in the latest issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, researchers said that the standard energy drink contains 50-100 milligrams of caffeine. They also contain legal stimulants such as ephedrine, guarana and ginseng. According to the National Institute of Health in America, high doses of energy drinks in children and teenagers may cause palpitations and high blood pressure.nbsp; 8220;Having large amounts of caffeine can cause headache and poor concentration in children. They can also cause other problems such as insomnia, bed wetting, anxiety, nausea and diarrhea,8221; says Dr S K Aggarwal, internal medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.

Doctors say that most children take energy drinks because they get addicted to them. 8220;When adults don8217;t get their daily dose of caffeine, they develop headaches. So they depend on their daily cup of coffee. The same goes for children who take energy drinks8212;they get whiny and grumpy,8221; says Sharma.
These energy drinks contain more caffeine than is required by a child8217;s body. 8220;Energy drinks are filled with caffeine and sugar, but don8217;t contain calcium, vitamins or have any nutritional value. A child should not be getting more than 45 milligrams of caffeine a day8221; says nutritionist Shikha Sharma.

The caffeine present in these drinks also makes it difficult for the child to get a good sleep at night. Another worrying trend is of children gulping down one energy drink after another to stay up all night during exams. As is the case with 13-year-old Tara Shukla. 8220;I don8217;t usually drink energy drinks but they help me stay alert when I have to study a night before an exam,8221; she says. While it may help her stay up, it8217;s not doing anything to improve her concentration, doctors say. It is, in fact, making it worse.

8220;Caffeine revs things up in the body. Your heart rate and blood pressure go up and the heart starts working harder than needed. In children, excess of such drinks damages the blood vessels in the kidneys, making them not work as efficiently,8221; warns Dr Sakshi Chawla, senior dietician at Fortis Hospital, Noida. Caffeine also makes your kidneys work harder and excrete more water in the form of urine. 8220;This is not a problem for adults, but children have smaller bodies and are affected more quickly by dehydration,8221; says Sharma.

While there are no guidelines as to how many energy drinks a child can consume, doctors suggest that they should not have more than one can/bottle every few months. 8220;These drinks should only be had by adults as their bodies are fully grown. Also, adults drink responsibly, unlike children who overdo everything,8221; says Dr Aggarwal. 8220;Children should opt for milk-based drinks or juices,8221; says Dr Chawla.