Today’s teens live busy lives, up early and staying up late. Their days are filled with school, after school activities, sports, jobs, homework and social activities. They feel tired and need energy to continue their long days. Energy drinks promise quick energy bursts, thus the names Boost and Rush. They promise them extra power of concentration. This energy comes in the form of caffeine. These drinks contain exorbitant amount of caffeine. Caffeine is a drug, and in such large doses does affect the lives of teens. The teens can become jittery, have sleep problems and often terrible headaches result. Large amounts of caffeine can cause dehydration and heart palpitations. Caffeine addiction is one reason energy drinks and teen health are not related.

Lots of sugar can be found in energy drinks, along with many calories. Teens are gaining weight from drinking multiple drinks a day. The sugar is awful on their teeth. Plus, these drinks are filling. They are not meant to be meals, but are often used that way. By drinking these drinks as meals, the teens are not getting the proper nutrition they need to be healthy. They need to be eating healthy, balanced meals to get the nutrition they need to get through hectic days.

You shouldn’t automatically think that energy drinks and teen health are not possible. But, energy drinks do have the potential to adversely affect the lives of teens when they are constantly drinking them. They are even being blamed for a few deaths when they were taken with alcohol. Legislators in some states are trying to get energy drinks to not be sold to minors or at least banned in schools. These drinks can be harmless, but they can be dangerous. Parents and teens themselves need to be aware of the side effects of these tasty, popular energy producing drinks before the negative effects begin.

As with anything, moderation is crucial. Skipping one meal for an energy drink or drinking a drink when a little extra energy is needed to stay up late cramming for exams will not be detrimental. You shouldn’t automatically think that energy drinks and teen health are not possible. But, energy drinks do have the potential to adversely affect the lives of teens when they are constantly drinking them. They are even being blamed for a few deaths when they were taken with alcohol.

Tags: Energy Drinks, Relationship, Teen Health

This entry was posted on November 26, 2009 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Teen Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.