Professor Jeannette Ickovics of the Yale School of Public Health (USA) conducted a study of 1,649 Connecticut middle school students, an average of 12 years old. She then realized that boys frequently consumed energy drinks and that there was a strong association between the number of drinks consumed and the risk of hyperactivity and inattention. More specifically, college students who consume energy drinks daily have a 66% increased risk of suffering from hyperactivity, inattention, and even attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“Each sugary drink consumed per day, including energy drinks, increases the risk of responding positively to ADHD symptoms by 14%,” explains Prof. Ickovics.
What are energy drinks?
These drinks distributed in cans, like sodas, are presented as stimulants of physical or intellectual effort. They are essentially stimulants of the nervous system. In fact, they contain substances such as caffeine, in high doses, associated with guarana (plants containing caffeine), arginine, taurine, ginseng, glucoronolactone (a derivative of glucose).
In France, the High Authority for Health has warned consumers by reminding that these drinks enriched with caffeine must be reserved for adults and that they have no place in children’s diets. Some of these drinks can indeed contain up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per 250 ml, while the level considered toxic for a child under 12 is 2.5 milligrams per pound of body weight.
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Energy drinks: why should we avoid consuming them?
