GP warns energy drinks can harm children under 16

ODN

Dr Sermed Mezher said high-caffeine energy drinks can raise heart rate and blood pressure and are often marketed as concentration or energy boosters. He warned children are more sensitive to these effects, which can cause poor focus, anxiety, trouble sleeping, or worsen heart problems. The government has announced plans to ban sales to under-16s and launched a 12-week consultation. Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Transcript

00:00the main way that these energy drinks have their effects is through caffeine and other stimulants

00:05now these can have those effects on multiple parts of the body they can increase the heart rate the

00:11blood pressure they can make you feel like you're not tired even though you've had only four hours

00:16sleep and these are marketed to improve concentration to lift energy levels but

00:23specifically in children they have developing brains they also have smaller bodies than adults

00:31and so they can be more sensitive to these effects and that can lead to poor concentration increased

00:36anxiety difficulty sleeping as well as causing abnormal heart rhythms or potentially worsening

00:43heart disease in people who were born with problems with it

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