Tag: pediatrics

Posted on

Does Your Child Consume Too Much Caffeine?

Many of our kids are “hooked” on energy drinks and soft drinks. Do you know the amount of caffeine in some 500 mL energy drink is equal to caffeine in 10 cans of cola? And we allow our children to drink that.

On October 19, an editorial – “Caffeinating” children and youth – in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) says, “Owing to inadequate labelling requirements, a lack of awareness of caffeine’s harmful effects and marketing campaigns that appeal to children and youth, this is precisely what we are unwittingly allowing in Canada and elsewhere.”

The editorial says that the energy drinks are very effective high-concentration caffeine delivery systems. These sugar-loaded syrups typically contain 80 to 140 mg of caffeine per 250 mL – the equivalent caffeine in one cup of coffee or two cans of cola.

Children who are looking for more caffeine go for drinks which have caffeine concentrations as high as 500 mg per can in US products such as Wired X505TM and FixxTM. Caffeine can also be purchased in 100- and 200-mg tablets in Canada and the United States.

“However, even tablets with two and one-half to five times less caffeine have mandatory health warnings guarding against use in children and cautions to limit use because too much caffeine may cause nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness and occasionally, rapid heart rate,” says the CMAJ editorial.

The question is: Caffeine-loaded energy drinks – are they beverages or drugs delivered as tasty syrups?

Health Canada has to do a better job of regulating products heavily loaded with caffeine. The food labels should clearly say how much caffeine is in the product. These labels should be easily understood by the general public – content of caffeine equivalent in terms of cups of coffee.

Can you compare energy drinks marketed towards youth and consumption of coffee by adults? For example, a 16-oz “grande” coffee at Starbucks contains 330 mg of caffeine. That is lot of caffeine. The editorial says, “Children and youth are notorious for making poor health choices. They can hardly be expected to make appropriate decisions about consuming energy drinks when information on caffeine concentration and appropriate safe amounts is not visible on these products.”

Adolescents and college students often mix energy drinks with alcohol. This is dangerous Studies have shown that the high levels of caffeine can mask the perception – but not the consequences – of acute alcohol intoxication.  

In a survey, college students who mixed alcohol with energy drinks were three times more likely to leave a bar highly intoxicated and four times more likely to drive while intoxicated than bar patrons who did not mix alcohol with energy drinks or drank them separately, says the CMAJ article.

A study of 100 US adolescents aged 12 to 18 found that 73 per cent consumed 100 mg or more of caffeine per day, with most consumption in the evening, the time of day most likely to negatively affect sleep. Poor sleep quality and quantity in adolescents has been associated with mood disorders, exacerbation of asthma, obesity, lower sense of well-being and poor school performance.

CMAJ is asking regulatory authorities such as Health Canada to step in. Regulations could include government-mandated restrictions on labelling, sales and marketing, or self-imposed industry-wide standards with clear labelling accompanied by public education.

Until 2008, France did not even allow the sale of Red BullTM, and in Denmark, sale was prohibited as of 2009. At a minimum, all products with caffeine levels exceeding 100 mg should have labels and advertising that carry warnings comparable to those required for caffeine tablets. There should be no advertising targeting children.  We should invest in public education focused on the health consequences of caffeine in children.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!

Posted on

Physically Active Children Have Higher Scholastic Achievements

In the last column, we discussed how regular exercise benefits adult brain. Today, we will focus on the importance of exercise for school children to boost their brain power.

These days, it is sad to note, when the education system is hit with cutbacks, one of the first programs to suffer is the physical education program. In Canada, we are also at the mercy of the unpredictable weather which hinders children’s outdoor activities.

We can always talk about the good old days. I was brought up in a country where our outdoor activities were not hampered by the vagaries of the weather nor country’s economic situation. Tanzania (then Tanganyika) was under the British rule and life those days was comfortably slow.

We would start the day at school with one hour of physical activity outdoors. After school we would have another hour or two of sporting activities involving different teams. Now the reality is, we can pine for those days but they isn’t coming back. We now live in a different kind of world where economic realities trump all other considerations.

We, as teachers and parents, owe it to our children to provide them with time, facilities and financial support for an hour or two of physical activity on a daily basis. This will not only boost their brain power, it will also act as an antidote for obesity and poor health. Developmental psychologists have suggested that in young children there is a link between physical and mental growth.

An article in the Scientific American Mind (September/October 2010) by Steve Ayan, a psychologist, makes three important points about the academic athletes:

-Students who are fit – based on their high aerobic capacity and low body fat – also tend to perform well in school and on standardized tests.
-In addition to regular exercise, brief periods of movement such as jumping or stretching can help improve children’s concentration.
-Exercise may turbocharge the brain by raising levels of neuronal growth factors, which foster the formation of new connections between brain cells.

Ayan’s conclusions are based on several studies quoted in his article. A review of about dozen articles done by psychologist Charles H. Hillman in 2008 revealed that children and teenagers with higher level of aerobic fitness – but not muscle strength or flexibility – were associated with better performance in school and on standardized tests.

That means, if the young person is more physically fit then more likely he or she will attain higher grades. This connection holds well from elementary school to college. Being fit at age 18 was correlated with a higher level of scholarly achievement in later life, says Ayan.

In a review of 17 studies from 2008, scientists from Universities of Quebec and Toronto concluded that reserving up to an hour a day for physical activity in school curriculums does not detract from academic achievement. “To the contrary, they noted that more exercise often improved school performance, despite the time it took away from reading, writing and arithmetic,” says Ayan.

Teachers and parents should recognize that physical education is about building the brain as well as body. Ayan concludes by saying, “If teachers want their students to pay attention, they should consider letting them jump, stomp and bend their bodies regularly during the school day. Most children have a natural inclination to move, so all the adults have to do is get out of their way.”

A very sensible advice.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!