--"Kids should not have energy drinks!" http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/26763?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=WC&userid=323650

I don't know about you folks, but I am so relieved. Everyone interested in child safety and health has been awaiting the report by the American Academy of Pediatrics with baited breath!  And the APA says, "Kids shouldn't have energy drinks at all and only need sports drinks occasionally." Phew, I was beginning to wonder. 

For years, doctors have warned parents and caregivers about giving kids too much sugar in candy, snacks, ice cream, sodas, sweetened juices and other foods; the evils of high fructose corn syrup and caffeine have been preached to us almost incessantly by nutrition activists--and then into the marketplace--as if in defiance of everything we've been taught--come energy drinks for kids.  You could have knocked me over with a feather! Caffeine and other stimulants contained in energy drinks "have no place in the diet of children and adolescents," cautioned Marcie Beth Schneider, MD, of Greenwich Adolescent Medicine in Greenwich, Conn., and colleagues.  (I'm thinking we should recommend Marcie Beth for something in the order of sainthood.)

The APA says, "Frequently downing Gatorade, Powerade and other sports drinks can substantially boost risk of weight problems for the average child." And here in the U.S. the problems associated with childhood obesity have increased in the past decade in geometric proportions! (APA says the exception to that statement is youth athletes who participate in regular, high-intensity sports and may benefit from electrolyte-replacing drinks following sports activity.) 

But what the APA says parents really need to be aware of is that "sports and energy drinks are being marketed to kids for a wide variety of inappropriate uses." Energy drink advertisements target kids' desire to excel in sports, suggesting better athletic performance and replacement of fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat, as well as a boosting energy, enhancing concentration and mental alertness." Nice huh... and meanwhile as sports enthusiasts, parents are concerned about a trend in adult sports figures (who shall remain nameless) consuming performance enhancing drugs in everything from bicycling competitions to baseball... Wouldn't sanctioning energy drinks be kind of like programming our kids to do the same when they become adult sports enthusiasts or athletes? 

One survey cited by the APA report says that "56.4% of U.S. kids drink sports beverages and 42.3% consume energy drinks."  To me, those are startling figures!  And while sports drinks may contain around 70 calories per serving, energy drinks may contain as much as 270 calories per serving... whoa Nellie!  And the latter may contain--are you ready--stimulants like caffeine, guarana, taurine, ginseng, L-carnitine, and creatine.  This raises a whole host of issues in my book.

So, parents, if you want more information on the APA report, go to: Schneider MB, et al "Clinical report-Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents: Are they appropriate?" Pediatrics 2011; 127: 1182-1189.   But with this report, we can all breathe a sigh of relief, that water is still the best choice of drink for our kids!