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HealthDay News — Energy drinks are linked to hyperactivity and inattention in middle-school students, a new study reveals.
Yale University researchers looked at more than 1,600 students at middle schools in one urban school district in Connecticut. Their average age was around 12 years.
Boys were more likely to consume energy drinks than girls. The researchers also found that among boys, black and Hispanic students were more likely to drink the beverages than white students.
Children who consumed energy drinks were 66% more likely to be at risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms, according to the study in the current issue of the journal Academic Pediatrics.
“As the total number of sugar-sweetened beverages increased, so too did risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms among our middle-school students. Importantly, it appears that energy drinks are driving this association,” study leader Jeannette Ickovics, PhD, a professor in the School of Public Health, said in a Yale news release.
Along with causing problems such as hyperactivity and inattention, sugary drinks increase children’s risk of obesity, Ickovics noted. About one-third of American children are overweight or obese, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Reference
Ickovics JR, et al. Energy Drinks and Youth Self-Reported Hyperactivity/Inattention Symptoms. Acad Pediatr. 2015; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2014.11.006.
