In a report entitled, “Kids Should Not Consume Energy Drinks, and Rarely Need Sports Drinks, Says AAP,” the nation’s pediatricians are advising teens not to down sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade unless they’re actually playing sports and to forgo energy drinks like Java Monster, Red Bull and Full Throttle altogether. The report was published in the journal, Pediatrics, by the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition and its Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness.

Many teens drink sports drinks in the lunch room, but these beverages are technically designed to give the body a carbohydrate and electrolyte boost, Dr. Marcie Schneider (an adolescent medicine physician) says, which is great for athletes after a grueling practice or a marathon workout session. “But outside that setting – and honestly most of our teens and children are way outside that setting – they don’t need sports drinks,” she says. “Water, not sports drinks, should be the major source of hydration for adolescent.” (Park, 2011)

Read and research this information. What is at issue here? Why are these drinks dangerous to children and teens specifically? At what age would you consider them safe?Be sure to reference any outside resources you use in your post.

Sources:

• American Academy of Pediatrics (2011, May 29). Clinical report – Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents: Are they appropriate?Pediatrics 127,1182- 1189. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0965
• American Academy of Pediatrics (2011, May 30). Kids should not consume energy drinks, and rarely need sports drinks, says AAP.American Academy of Pediatricians.Retrieved from :http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/Kids-Should-Not-Consume-Energy-Drinks,-and-Rarely-Need-Sports-Drinks,-Says-AAP.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token
• Park, A. (2011, May 30). Teen don’t need sports and energy drinks, pediatricians say.Time.Retrieved from:http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/30/teens-dont-need-sports-and-energy-drinks-pediatricians-say/