Teenagers have a lot of options when it comes to eating and drinking caffeinated products, and many do that. In fact, research shows that almost a quarter of teenagers have caffeine all or most days of the week. But the new directives of a nutrition research group say that this is bad news, stressing that adolescents should not have caffeine at all – at all.
The guidelines, which were published by Healthy Eating Research and created by a panel of experts from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association , spell recommendations for drinks for children between five and 18 years old.
Depending on the recommendations, it is preferable for children in this age group to stick to water and ordinary milk. They should also limit their 100%consumption of juice, as well as milk and flavored milks – while avoiding sugary drinks, drinks containing artificial sweeteners and drinks with caffeine and other stimulants.
The recommendations clearly indicate that “children should avoid drinking drinks with any amount of caffeine, including tea, coffee and energy drinks”, noting that there is uncertainty on security caffeine in children and adolescents.
There is currently no federal orientation on the quantity of security caffeine for children and adolescents, although the Food and Drug Administration says that most healthy adults can have up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day .
The advice has raised many questions about the impact of caffeine on children, as well as adolescents are most likely to meet him. Here’s what you need to know.
How does caffeine have an impact on children?
Caffeine is a stimulant that occurs naturally in more than 60 plants, including coffee beans, tea leaves and kola nuts, according to the US National Library of Medicine. But there are also synthetic forms of caffeine that are added to certain foods and drinks, including energy drinks.
“Caffeine has addictive properties,” explains Jamie Alan, PHD, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University. “Too much caffeine can cause sleep problems, high blood pressure and anxiety. The withdrawal of caffeine is not funny either. This can cause headache.
The greatest concern of caffeine and children is that many drinks sold with adolescents contain large amounts of caffeine. “Think of 200 to 300 milligrams,” says Alan. “This amount is important, even for adults.”
Having large quantities of caffeine can cause these symptoms, according to the United States National Library:
- Switch and tremor
- Insomnia
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Quick heart rate
- Dehydration
- Anxiety
- Dependence
“Caffeine can be a very useful tool in adulthood, but can also cause many unwanted side effects such as heart rate and higher blood pressure, feelings of anxiety and difficulty sleeping,” explains Ansley Schulte , MD, pediatric medical director at Kidspeace. “The habits that take place in adolescence also poses the basis of life for life. It is best to avoid these high caffeine drinks while the brain is still in a period of rapid development and lifelong habits. »»
The biggest sources of caffeine for children
Caffeine can be found in many products, but children are most likely to meet caffeine from these sources, according to the directives:
- Coffee or decafferated tea (2 to 15 milligrams)
- Bottled iced tea (20-80 milligrams)
- Ordinary soda (35-55 milligrams)
- Black or green tea (55 milligrams)
- Coffee (80-200 milligrams)
- Energy clips (200-250 milligrams)
- Energy drinks (150-300 milligrams)
But caffeine also appears sneakily in certain foods and drinks. These include:
- “Loaded” drinks
- Chocolate bars
- Some protein bars
- Chocolate chips
- Ice
- The “energy boosting” gums and snacks
Even some drinks that seem to have no caffeine, such as the refreshment of Starbucks Açaí, contain the stimulant. (A large version has up to 55 milligrams of caffeine.) Panera withdrew the lemonade responsible for its menu in 2024 after several proceedings said that the drink had caused health problems in people who were not aware of its high caffeine content.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to know how many caffeine is in a particular product. “The caffeine content is not always shown on nutrition labels,” explains Megan Lott, MPH, RDN, assistant director of policies and research for healthy research.
With the kind permission of research on healthy food
Should children really completely avoid caffeine?
The latest tips indicate yes. It also echoes the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) which declares: “avoiding caffeine is the best choice for all children”.
Gina Posner, MD, pediatrician at the Memorialcare Medical Group in Fountain Valley, California, agrees. “I really tell patients to stay away,” she said. “I found that if I give permission to my patients to have it, then they take it as they can have a lot.” Posner points out that caffeine is a stimulant, and it can have an impact on younger bodies differently from those of adults.
Schulte also recommends that patients are not clear. “I advise to limit caffeine as much as possible due to side effects such as bad sleep and bad anxiety,” she said.
Energy drinks are particularly worrying, she says. “There were teenagers who died of energy drinks,” said Posner. “Adults shouldn’t even drink these things.” But Posner says “it’s not the end of the world” if a teenager has caffeine here and there. “You really want to minimize it,” she adds.
Alan also says that parents should not panic if their child has the strange caffeinate product. “An occasional drink with lower quantities of caffeine – a cup of coffee, a slat with a stroke of espresso or a soda box – is probably perfectly good for adolescents,” she says. “The biggest concern is the plethora of available drinks that contain much larger quantities of caffeine.”
