The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) wants America’s kids and teens to stop chugging the sugary sports drinks and caffeinated energy drinks that make youngsters edgy and obese. This should not be news, since no one benefits from sports swill. Doctors agree that the best product for hydration is water.
But Gatorade has spent millions campaigning against water: ”Water has no carbs. Water has no electrolytes. Water has no game.” And Red Bull “performance drink” sponsors sports teams and athletes and claims the product increases concentration and reaction speed, improves vigilance and “emotional status,’ and “stimulates metabolism.” What these products really stimulate is commerce: they make billions in profits each year.
The AAP holds that high doses of caffeine are bad for kids and “frequent or excessive intake of caloric sports drinks can substantially increase the risk for overweight or obesity in children and adolescents.” Who you gonna believe, the Docs or the Jocks?
“Clinical Report—Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks for Children and Adolescents: Are They Appropriate?” AAP Committee on Nutrition and the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, from the June 2011 issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Tags: caffeine, children, childrens health, energy drinks, Gatorade, health, obesity, pediatrics, performance beverages, performance drinks, Red Bull, soft drinks, sports drinks, sugar, sugar sweetened beverages, sugar sweetened soft drinks
May 31, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Great post – facts versus profits, a contrast we need to see made more often.