About Energy drinks essay

The Harmful Effects of Energy Drinks on Children


The non-alcoholic beverages known as "energy drinks" typically have high quantities of sugar and caffeine as well as additional nutrients such vitamins, taurine, ginseng, sweeteners, and herbal supplements like guarana. These beverages include cardiac and hematologic action as well as stimulant qualities, but they have no therapeutic value. They are frequently advertised to boost mental clarity, vitality, and stamina as well as improve athletic performance, stamina, weight loss, and focus, among other things (Shah et al. 485).

Risks to Children


Half of the energy drink market consists of children, adolescents, and young adults who are at risk of adverse health effects. Prolonged consumption of energy drinks may affect the health of kids based on the effects of caffeine, which is the main active ingredient in energy drinks. Energy drink consumption may cause prolonged health effects and mental issues in children. It may also lead to sleep disruption and insomnia, caffeine intoxication and withdrawal, disruptive, hyperactive and risky behavior. Children who are fond of using energy drinks have problems in their brain development. Other long-term health effects connected to consumption of these beverages include obesity, type II diabetes depression, heart problems, and dental erosion (Shah et al. 46). Other health symptoms associated with energy drinks include sleeping problems, headache, fatigue, and irritation. People who take energy drinks regularly find it difficult to have enough sleep as most of the time the drinks keep them awake. Energy drinks are also associated with adverse effects such as mania, seizures, stroke, and sudden death (Trapp et al. 420).

High-Risk Individuals


In most cases, these adverse events happen to people who consume energy drinks without having taken other kind of foods. Also, people who are under particular medication should not take energy drinks as they have side effects when they react with medicine. Children with problems such as cardiovascular, seizures, renal or liver disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, mood and behavioral disorders, or those under medication are at higher risk of adverse events from the consumption of energy drinks. In children, the presence of caffeine in soft drinks increases blood pressure and sleep disturbances while it leads to decreased attention after termination of the drinks. Too much consumption of these drinks leads to addiction where it might be very difficult for the children to do away with the drinks. According to a study, children with the habitual use of caffeine portrayed withdrawal symptoms such as a headache and dulled cognition (Trapp et al. 423). As a result, they have to suffer financial stress because they have to buy several energy drinks every day. Also, there is a decrease in reaction time with the increase in the dose of caffeine in children.

Risky Behavior in Teenagers


Teenagers who engage in drinking energy drinks sometimes develop risky behavior and are capable of taking dangerous risks like having unprotected sexual acts. The teenagers can also participate in fights, resulting in injuries. An allergic reaction is another problem associated with energy drinks as a result of the mixture of too many ingredients. The caffeine present in soft drinks may affect future preference for food and beverages by acting on the developing brain reward and addiction center of a child. In some cases, the use of high-caffeine energy drinks in children with eating disorders may lead to cardiac dysrhythmias and intracardiac conduction abnormalities (Sanchis-Gomar et al. 3).

Increased Health Risks


For children with electrolyte disorders, consumption of energy drinks containing high levels of caffeine may expose them to even higher risks. Sugar and caffeine contained in the drinks may lead to increased postprandial hyperglycemia in those children with diabetes. There is also increased obesity with the increase in calories from the consumption of energy drinks. As a result, children develop the behavior of withdrawal from other children, making it difficult to associate with their age mates. Other incidents related to energy drinks include kidney failure, liver damage, and cardiac failure. Other conditions include agitation, seizures, hypertension, psychotic conditions, and tachycardia.

Adverse Effects of Caffeine and Other Ingredients


Caffeine stimulates skeletal muscles, causes cerebral and coronary vasoconstriction, reduces insulin sensitivity, relaxes smooth muscle, modulates gene expression in premature neonates, has cardiac chronotropic and inotropic effects. Once taken in large amounts, caffeine increases urine flow and sweat excretion and might lead to altering of blood electrolyte levels. Due to the increased breathing caused by caffeine, there may be a distraction in the blood flow away from locomotor muscles and reverse any ergogenic advantage. Cardiovascular effects of caffeine include increased blood pressure and decreased heart rate from stimulation of medullary vagal nuclei (Menci et al. 2).

Additional adverse effects of caffeine include hallucinations, paralysis, stroke, palpitations, upset stomach, abdominal pain, vomiting, and tremor. Also, too much consumption of caffeine leads to infertility. For children who take it at an early age, it affects their reproductive organs. The organs do not develop properly, hence making them infertile. Also, the presence of taurine in energy drinks has indicated anticonvulsive and epileptogenic properties (Menci et al. 2). Energy drinks contain guarana, which causes inhibition of aggregation on platelets, and an ingredient known as ginseng that lowers blood glucose levels. In some cases, high levels of caffeine in the energy drinks can aggravate cardiac conditions, leading to sudden death. For children suffering from diabetes, an increase in calories and obesity may be a risk. Additional calories may increase glucose levels in the blood, result in calcium deficiency, dental problems, and low self-esteem. Caffeine in energy drinks hampers the absorption of intestinal calcium.

Conclusion


Energy drinks are specialized kinds of drinks that are sold in cans or small bottles. The drinks are meant to energize the user with instant energy. However, drinks that contain caffeine have more harm on the body than benefits. The producers of the drinks focus on selling convenience drinks with low-calorie to give instant energy to the users. On the contrary, many producers have contaminated energy drinks and sell them with a lot of calories, which is not suitable for health. Energy drinks are of no benefit to children who consume them, and they are not safe for their hearts. The compounds in energy drinks are chemicals that affect the heart as they slow the flow of blood through the coronary arteries. Also, too much of energy drinks leads to addiction where one has to take it to continue with their daily tasks. Moreover, cardiac problems are associated with excessive and repeated use of energy drinks. The drinks also can result in conditions like phobia as well as anxiety in their users. Although energy drinks have negative effects on their users, they provide energy to the body when properly handled. It should be therefore taken under management to avoid too much of it as it can lead to addiction.


Work Cited


Menci, D., Righini, F. M., Cameli, M., Lisi, M., Benincasa, S., Focardi, M., & Mondillo, S. Acute Effects of An Energy Drink on Myocardial Function Assessed by Conventional Echo-Doppler Analysis and By Speckle Tracking Echocardiography on Young Healthy Subjects. 2013. Journal of Amino Acids.

Sanchis-Gomar, F., Pareja-Galeano, H., Cervellin, G., Lippi, G., & Earnest, C. P. Energy Drink Overconsumption in Adolescents: Implications for Arrhythmias and Other Cardiovascular Events. Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Shah, S. A., Dargush, A. E., Potts, V., Lee, M., Millard-Hasting, B. M., Williams, B., & Lacey, C. S. Effects of Single and Multiple Energy Shots on Blood Pressure and Electrocardiographic Parameters. The American journal of cardiology, 117.3 (2016): 465-468.

Trapp, G. S., Allen, K., O’Sullivan, T. A., Robinson, M., Jacoby, P., & Oddy, W. H. Energy Drink Consumption is Associated with Anxiety in Australian Young Adult Males. 2014. Depression and anxiety, 31.5 (2014): 420-428.

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