Why have energy drinks less than 16 years have been banned in England? The real question is why this is not done soon Davi Seradhar
A18 months ago, the British youth were in the midst of Prime Madness. This bright energy drink in bright colors pushed by Youtube Logan Paul and KSI, which is crazy to buy behind parents. Not only through the high price, or resale sites that have benefited from scarcity and behaved as a kind of ticket ticket for drinks, but also in the despair in which children and adolescents seem to feel the consumption of this product. It is not just a preliminary. Stores are full of energy drinks, and they are often marketed for young people.
In response to the increasing health concerns about its consumption, the UK government recently announced that the sale of energy drinks to anyone under the age of 16 will be banned in England. Wes Streeting referred to his prayers with obesity, poor concentration, and restriction of sleep patterns as major reasons for politics. He said: “Energy drinks may seem harmless, but sleep, focus and welfare of children today are all affected, while high sugar versions harm their teeth and contribute to obesity.” Soft drinks are also included in this category, but at the core of the debate about energy drinks, a few common stimuli are considered to think of a few of us twice: caffeine.
Caffeine is a drug with a psychological effect that stimulates the central nervous system. While most adults can consume them in reasonable quantities without harm (think about coffee, tea or dark chocolate) children and adolescents treat them differently. Their developing bodies are more sensitive to certain drugs because in those years, the brain is “plastic” – easily molded by environmental factors. A good group of evidence indicates that younger minds are seriously affected by caffeine.
One of the strongest studies comes from the United States, where data were analyzed approximately 12,000 children between the ages of nine to 10 Development study. This was followed by these children over time to consider the influence of different materials, including caffeine, and the performance of the brain including understanding vocabulary, decomposition of reading, inhibitors control, working memory, cognitive flexibility, treatment speed, and transverse memory. They found that eating caffeine has negatively affected all seven cognitive measures, until controlling age, sex, sleep, social and economic situation.
The authors of the American study are completely clear in their conclusions, noting: “We advise parents to control their children from drinks with caffeine to reduce the risk of interference with natural cognitive development.” Likewise, the American Academy of Pediatrics It is strongly recommended Individuals under the age of 18 avoid energy that contains caffeine or sports drinks.
Studies from Australiaand Portugal And the southwest England Similar negative effects appear on the growth of the brain and mood.
But this is also about the amount of our consumption, right? So what is the amount of caffeine harmful to health? European Food Safety Authority is that the caffeine dose is higher than 3 mg per kilogram of body weight It has harmful effects In children (and adults). This means that the 10 -year -old weighs 30 kg can suffer from cognitive effect, sleep disabling, or a high heart rate of only 90 mg of caffeine. However, most energy drinks have much more. For example, one PRIME box contains 200 mg, compared to an eight ounce (95 mg) or tea (50 mg), a box of coke (34 mg) or a coke box (46 mg).
The high levels of caffeine in energy drinks and risks to the health of children and adolescents are at the heart of the proposed ban in England. Some will argue that this should be a matter of parents, not government intervention. But this argument collapses in the face of marketing, especially on Tiktok, YouTube and Instagram. Some of these products are strongly promoted online, and often by influencers, children may listen to more than their parents or teachers. The font packaging is overwhelmed by being sports drinks (anything good for performance and your body) and energy drinks; Children can easily buy the latter on their way to school or during lunch breaks. Parents’ expectation – individually – to control this is unrealistic and unfair.
Of course, even if they are banned for young people, only parents can buy these drinks and give them to children. We know that enforcement can be incomplete. But for parents at the time and influence, the proposed ban indicates that these drinks are not harmful, just because there is something common that does not mean that it is safe.
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In such situations, the government’s role is not the exact management, but rather to work as a candidate between commercial interests and the weak population, including children and adolescents. Parents and consumers depend on the state for the sea through scientific evidence, safety evaluation and the organization of products that may harm. When this process works well, it protects public health and allows us all to have something less to think when choosing what we eat and drink it in stores. The decision to prohibit energy drinks for less than 16 years shows that governments-which are based on evidence, which are reached by the medical community and representation in the public interest-can start in a positive way to the health of people.