Most teenagers have heard about the health risks of smoking, drinking and consuming cannabis.
But there’s another popular — and potentially harmful — product they’re likely hearing less about: energy drinks.
The drinks usually contain high doses of caffeine and sugar, and are popular among teens in large part due to online influencers.
Energy drink sales in Canada jumped from $851 million to $1.1 billion between 2018 and 2022, according to Euromonitor, a market research firm.
Despite their popularity, experts say there are health risks to consuming these drinks, and it’s important for parents and teachers to have open conversations with teens about those risks.
Many teenagers don’t realize how the high doses of caffeine could affect them, Dr. Olivier Drouin told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC’s The Dose.
« Many of them don’t really realize that energy drinks carry some potential negative health effects, » said Drouin, a pediatrician and clinician scientist at the CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal.
In July, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled more than two dozen energy drink brands due to caffeine content higher than the legal limit of 180 mg per serving in Canada.
Those drinks in turn make it harder for them to get a good night’s sleep, said Dr. Roger Godbout, head of the sleep laboratory at Rivière-des-Prairies mental health hospital in Montreal.
« They are stuck in this vicious circle and they don’t know how to get away [from] it, » said Godbout, also a clinical psychologist and professor emeritus at the Université de Montreal.
Source et article complet : Energy drinks can harm teens’ health. Here’s what experts say parents can do | CBC Radio