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SALT LAKE CITY -- As students head back to school, health officials are reminding us that energy drinks can be dangerous for kids.
The Utah Poison Control Center wants parents to be cautious and know what's in the can.
"The primary issue is really the amount of caffeine. ...It's really not clear from any of the energy drinks just how much caffeine is in some of those products." Barbara Insley Crouch, Utah Poison Control Center
"The primary issue is really the amount of caffeine," says Barbara Insley Crouch, director of Utah Poison Control Center.
Caffeine-loaded energy drinks like Red Bull and Rock Star do pose health risks. Caffeine exposures make up less than 1 percent of the calls to poison control, but those calls often lead to the emergency room.
Three years ago, poison control issued a warning about energy drinks. At that time, they'd had so many calls dealing with overdoses they wanted the public to know more about the dangers.
Today there are even more energy drinks on the store shelves -- Americans buy more than 5 billion energy drinks every year, and teens pick up one-third.
KSL News caught up with the girls soccer team at East High School Monday afternoon. They knew all about the drinks, but none was a regular consumer.
"I don't really drink energy drinks. I hear they're bad for you," Becca Solomon said. "But I know people who take them all the time."
Another player said she used to drink such drinks regularly, but not anymore. She said her dad showed her an article about the dangers of energy drinks, and she started to notice the effects on her stamina.
"I'd have the energy to play for 10 minutes, then I would be tired," Sarah Mecham recalled. "When I quit drinking them, I had more energy and endurance and could go longer."
The director of Utah Poison Control Center says most of the drinks contain multiple sources of caffeine. That presents problems for the consumer and for doctors who may have to treat a patient in the emergency room.
"It's really not clear from any of the energy drinks just how much caffeine is in some of those products," Crouch says.
The label lists caffeine, but the energy drink may also have guarana or other contents which also contain caffeine. The consumer gets a bigger dose of the drug than expected, especially if he or she also downs a soda and energy-boosting vitamins.
The result: jitters, nausea and headaches. In serious cases, the person can also experience vomiting, heart palpitations or seizures.
"The potential is that by ingesting lots of energy drinks, as well as other sources of caffeine, that places kids at risk," Crouch says.
Energy drinks also typically contain more sugar than sports drinks like Gatorade. Sports drinks are meant to replenish electrolytes and hydrate you. But with all he caffeine in energy drinks, the diuretic effect is dehydration.
"It's really the wrong thing to be taking for those involved in athletics and other activities where they already have the potential to be dehydrated," Crouch says.
As far as East High's soccer coach is concerned, that's a bad idea in August in Utah.
"I don't know if I can forbid them to drink it, because I can't control them all the time," said Rudy Schenk, "but we don't encourage the kids to use them."
The American Beverage Association says people can call the 1-800-number on the can and find out anything they want to know about a drink's caffeine content.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
