Children should avoid energy drinks

• Red Bull, Amp, Adrenaline Rush, Lost Energy, Full Throttle and scores of other so-called energy drinks are a million-dollar market, padding the pockets of their makers and revving up the consumers who drink them.
• "As a physician, I don't recommend them for children," said Dr. Ronald Flory, a family practitioner at Covenant Clinic.
• A survey by an Australian consumer group showed 27 percent of 8- to 12-year-old boys, 12 percent of 8- to 12-year-old girls, 24 percent of 12- to 18-year-old boys and 20 percent of 12- to 18-year-old girls had had at least one energy drink in the two weeks prior to the survey.
• In the United States, where health officials are struggling with a growing childhood obesity epidemic, the calorie count in energy drinks amounts to more bad news.
• Hansen's Energy Pro packs 120 calories in its 8-ounce can.
• Caffeine does provide a quick energy boost, but it doesn't come without a cost, especially in children.
• "A can of Red Bull has two times the amount of caffeine as a can of Coke," said Lori Fincher, a dietitian at Allen Hospital.
• It gives them a quick, high buzz and makes them feel like they have all this energy."
• But caffeine also is a diuretic that can quickly rob kids of fluids, leaving them dehydrated, said Fincher.
• "It will enhance concentration and performance, but it can interfere with the appropriate fluid balance and enhances the chances of heart rhythm disturbance," said Flory.
• Combined with caffeine, ephedrine has been proven to cause deadly heart problems.
• High school officials in Burbank, Calif., banned energy drinks in 2000 when two student athletes who had consumed drinks with ephedrine fainted.
• Taurine, an ingredient which, at high levels, is said to boost the effects of stimulants, is a common ingredient in many energy drinks, as is guarana or extracts from its seeds, yet another source of caffeine.